WASHINGTON—New bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate would establish an interagency working group tasked with developing accountability metrics to enhance cybersecurity protocols and protecting federally-funded research and development activities from foreign interference, espionage, and exfiltration.
The bipartisan Secure American Research Act would establish the Secure Research Working Group coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Under the bill, the group would have the power to draft unified security policies, guidance, and best practices to protect taxpayer-funded research; develop strategies to defend against cyber-attacks and foreign espionage threatening federal research and development; and promote the ongoing coordination of information sharing between agencies, the private sector, and academia to better understand and address the threats from foreign espionage, JD Supra reported.
The bill authorizes the group to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities within the science and technology fields and to identify agency-based cybersecurity policies necessary to receive federal research funding, JD Supra noted.
The bill was sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and co-sponsored by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Hoeven (R-ND), James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).