15 U.S.C. § 7432 — National cybersecurity challenges

Page 2360 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 7432 National Science Foundation, in coordina- tion with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security, may award grants to institutions of higher edu- cation or research and development non- profit institutions to establish cybersecurity test beds. (B) Requirement The cybersecurity test beds under subpara- graph (A) shall be sufficiently robust in order to model the scale and complexity of real-time cyber attacks and defenses on real world networks and environments. (C) Assessment required The Director of the National Science Foundation, in coordination with the Sec- retary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall evaluate the effec- tiveness of any grants awarded under this subsection in meeting the objectives of the Federal cybersecurity research and develop- ment strategic plan not later than 2 years after the review under paragraph (1) of this subsection, and periodically thereafter. (d) Coordination with other research initiatives In accordance with the responsibilities under section 5511 of this title, the Director of the Of- fice of Science and Technology Policy shall co- ordinate, to the extent practicable, Federal re- search and development activities under this section with other ongoing research and devel- opment security-related initiatives, including research being conducted by— (1) the National Science Foundation; (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology; (3) the Department of Homeland Security; (4) other Federal agencies; (5) other Federal and private research lab- oratories, research entities, and universities; (6) institutions of higher education; (7) relevant nonprofit organizations; and (8) international partners of the United States. (e) Omitted (f) Research on the science of cybersecurity The head of each agency and department iden- tified under section 5511(a)(3)(B) 1 of this title, through existing programs and activities, shall support research that will lead to the develop- ment of a scientific foundation for the field of cybersecurity, including research that increases understanding of the underlying principles of se- curing complex networked systems, enables re- peatable experimentation, and creates quantifi- able security metrics. (Pub. L. 113–274, title II, § 201, Dec. 18, 2014, 128 Stat. 2974; Pub. L. 114–329, title I, § 105(t), Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 2985; Pub. L. 116–283, div. H, title XCIV, § 9407(b), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4814.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 5511(a)(3)(B) of this title, referred to in sub- secs. (a)(4) and (f), was redesignated section 5511(a)(3)(C) of this title by Pub. L. 114–329, title I, § 105(f)(2)(D)(i), Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 2979. CODIFICATION Section is comprised of section 201 of Pub. L. 113–274. Subsec. (e) of section 201 of Pub. L. 113–274 amended section 7403 of this title. AMENDMENTS 2021—Subsec. (a)(1)(K), (L). Pub. L. 116–283 added sub- par. (K) and redesignated former subpar. (K) as (L). 2017—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 114–329 substituted ‘‘clauses (i) through (xi)’’ for ‘‘clauses (i) through (x)’’ and ‘‘under clause (xii)’’ for ‘‘under clause (xi)’’. § 7432. National cybersecurity challenges (a) Establishment of national cybersecurity chal- lenges (1) In general To achieve high-priority breakthroughs in cybersecurity by 2028, the Secretary of Com- merce shall establish the following national cybersecurity challenges: (A) Economics of a cyber attack Building more resilient systems that measurably and exponentially raise adver- sary costs of carrying out common cyber at- tacks. (B) Cyber training (i) Empowering the people of the United States with an appropriate and measurably sufficient level of digital literacy to make safe and secure decisions online. (ii) Developing a cybersecurity workforce with measurable skills to protect and main- tain information systems. (C) Emerging technology Advancing cybersecurity efforts in re- sponse to emerging technology, such as arti- ficial intelligence, quantum science, next generation communications, autonomy, data science, and computational technologies. (D) Reimagining digital identity Maintaining a high sense of usability while improving the privacy, security, and safety of online activity of individuals in the United States. (E) Federal agency resilience Reducing cybersecurity risks to Federal networks and systems, and improving the re- sponse of Federal agencies to cybersecurity incidents on such networks and systems. (2) Coordination In establishing the challenges under para- graph (1), the Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security on the challenges under subparagraphs (B) and (E) of such paragraph. (b) Pursuit of national cybersecurity challenges (1) In general Not later than 180 days after January 1, 2021, the Secretary, acting through the Under Sec- retary of Commerce for Standards and Tech- nology, shall commence efforts to pursue the national cybersecurity challenges established under subsection (a). (2) Competitions The efforts required by paragraph (1) shall include carrying out programs to award prizes, Page 2361 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 7441 including cash and noncash prizes, competi- tively pursuant to the authorities and proc- esses established under section 3719 of this title or any other applicable provision of law. (3) Additional authorities In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may enter into and perform such other trans- actions as the Secretary considers necessary and on such terms as the Secretary considers appropriate. (4) Coordination In pursuing national cybersecurity chal- lenges under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall coordinate with the following: (A) The Director of the National Science Foundation. (B) The Secretary of Homeland Security. (C) The Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. (D) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. (E) The Director of the Office of Manage- ment and Budget. (F) The Administrator of the General Services Administration. (G) The Federal Trade Commission. (H) The heads of such other Federal agen- cies as the Secretary of Commerce considers appropriate for purposes of this section. (5) Solicitation of acceptance of funds (A) In general Pursuant to section 3719 of this title, the Secretary shall request and accept funds from other Federal agencies, State, United States territory, local, or Tribal government agencies, private sector for-profit entities, and nonprofit entities to support efforts to pursue a national cybersecurity challenge under this section. (B) Rule of construction Nothing in subparagraph (A) may be con- strued to require any person or entity to provide funds or otherwise participate in an effort or competition under this section. (c) Recommendations (1) In general In carrying out this section, the Secretary of Commerce shall designate an advisory council to seek recommendations. (2) Elements The recommendations required by paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) A scope for efforts carried out under subsection (b). (B) Metrics to assess submissions for prizes under competitions carried out under sub- section (b) as the submissions pertain to the national cybersecurity challenges estab- lished under subsection (a). (3) No additional compensation The Secretary may not provide any addi- tional compensation, except for travel ex- penses, to a member of the advisory council designated under paragraph (1) for participa- tion in the advisory council. (Pub. L. 113–274, title II, § 205, as added Pub. L. 116–283, div. H, title XCIV, § 9407(a), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4813.) SUBCHAPTER II—EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT § 7441. Cybersecurity competitions and chal- lenges (a) In general The Secretary of Commerce, Director of the National Science Foundation, and Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Di- rector of the Office of Personnel Management, shall— (1) support competitions and challenges under section 3719 of this title (as amended by section 105 of the America COMPETES Reau- thorization Act of 2010 (124 Stat. 3989)) or any other provision of law, as appropriate— (A) to identify, develop, and recruit tal- ented individuals to perform duties relating to the security of information technology in Federal, State, local, and tribal government agencies, and the private sector; or (B) to stimulate innovation in basic and applied cybersecurity research, technology development, and prototype demonstration that has the potential for application to the information technology activities of the Federal Government; and (2) ensure the effective operation of the com- petitions and challenges under this section. (b) Participation Participants in the competitions and chal- lenges under subsection (a)(1) may include— (1) students enrolled in grades 9 through 12; (2) students enrolled in a postsecondary pro- gram of study leading to a baccalaureate de- gree at an institution of higher education; (3) students enrolled in a postbaccalaureate program of study at an institution of higher education; (4) institutions of higher education and re- search institutions; (5) veterans; and (6) other groups or individuals that the Sec- retary of Commerce, Director of the National Science Foundation, and Secretary of Home- land Security determine appropriate. (c) Affiliation and cooperative agreements Competitions and challenges under this sec- tion may be carried out through affiliation and cooperative agreements with— (1) Federal agencies; (2) regional, State, or school programs sup- porting the development of cyber profes- sionals; (3) State, local, and tribal governments; or (4) other private sector organizations. (d) Areas of skill Competitions and challenges under subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be designed to identify, develop, and recruit exceptional talent relating to— (1) ethical hacking; (2) penetration testing; (3) vulnerability assessment; (4) continuity of system operations; (5) security in design; (6) cyber forensics; (7) offensive and defensive cyber operations; and