A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday that would expand the role of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in protecting federal agencies registered under the .gov domain.
The Federal Information Security Management Reform Act of 2015, or FISMA Reform Act, would update the existing, 12-year-old FISMA to give the DHS authority to conduct risk assessments on federal government networks and domains as well as operate defensive counter measures without an agency's permission. Currently, each department is responsible for monitoring its own networks and the DHS must have an agency's consent to be involved with cybersecurity measures.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a bill co-sponsor, called the legislation "crucial to securing our government systems and helping to prevent future, potentially devastating cyber attacks against our nation."
The bill may reach a vote as early as the first week in August.
