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Cyber Diplomacy Act aims to elevate America’s global cybersecurity…

The new bill has bipartisan support to improve the US’s ability to prevent and respond to cyberattacks and correct missteps of the Trump administration.

On February 23, 2021, a bipartisan group of leading Congress members introduced the Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2021. Jim Langevin (D-RI), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems, and Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX), the Republican lead on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, are top sponsors of the legislation.

The bill, which revives legislation introduced during the last two Congresses, establishes an Office of International Cyberspace Policy within the State Department. It also aims to promote American international leadership on cybersecurity, a primary goal of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which Langevin co-chairs.

The bill creates a Bureau of International Cyberspace Policy in the Undersecretary of Political Affairs offices where it will guide policy across a diverse range of areas touched by cyberspace. “I have full confidence that this organizational change is going to best position the United States to reclaim its role as a global leader inside the diplomacy realm, which is very particularly urgent given the ever-changing array of threats that we face,” Langevin tells CSO. ” basically positions the State Department to be much better equipped to advocate on the international stage for cyber diplomacy-related issues. It hopefully undoes the damage that was done during the time of the previous administration,” he says.

This article appeared in CSO Online. To read the rest of the article please visit here.

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The cybersecurity legislation agenda: 5 areas to watch

lead centered=”no”The 116th Congress is only a few months old, but far-reaching cybersecurity bills to protect infrastructure and the supply chain, ensure election integrity, and build a security workforce are now being considered. Here’s the list. /lead

New digital threats that could topple business, government, military and political institutions is moving cybersecurity to the top of the congressional agenda. The newly seated 116th Congress has so far seen 30 bills introduced in the House of Representatives and seven bills introduced in the Senate that directly deal with cybersecurity issues. That does not include other pieces of legislation that have at least some provisions that deal with information and digital security.

A key problem in grappling with such a complex issue as cybersecurity in Congress — and in Washington in general — is the diffused responsibility spawned by the wide-ranging, interconnected nature of the topic. Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI), a member of the Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees, and one of the founders of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, flagged this stumbling block at the 2019 State of the Net conference in January by calling for consolidation in Congress over cybersecurity.

Noting that around 80 groups within the legislative branch claim some jurisdiction over cybersecurity matters, Langevin said, “We as a Congress are going to have to move with greater agility to respond to the cybersecurity threats we face going forward, and we can’t do it under the current construct.” Langevin wants the House Homeland Security issue to take the lead on all matters related to cybersecurity.

This article appeared in CSO Online. To read the rest of the article please visit here.