SUBCHAPTER II—FEDERAL CYBERSECURITY ENHANCEMENT
§1521. Definitions
In this subchapter:
(1) Agency
The term "agency" has the meaning given the term in
(2) Agency information system
The term "agency information system" has the meaning given the term in
(3) Appropriate congressional committees
The term "appropriate congressional committees" means—
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives.
(4) Cybersecurity risk; information system
The terms "cybersecurity risk" and "information system" have the meanings given those terms in
(5) Director
The term "Director" means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
(6) Intelligence community
The term "intelligence community" has the meaning given the term in
(7) National security system
The term "national security system" has the meaning given the term in
(8) Secretary
The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Homeland Security.
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Editorial Notes
References in Text
This subchapter, referred to in text, was in the original "this subtitle", meaning subtitle B (§§221–229) of title II of div. N of
Amendments
2022—Par. (4).
2018—Par. (2).
Par. (4).
§1522. Advanced internal defenses
(a) Advanced network security tools
(1) In general
The Secretary shall include, in the efforts of the Department to continuously diagnose and mitigate cybersecurity risks, advanced network security tools to improve visibility of network activity, including through the use of commercial and free or open source tools, and to detect and mitigate intrusions and anomalous activity.
(2) Development of plan
The Director shall develop and the Secretary shall implement a plan to ensure that each agency utilizes advanced network security tools, including those described in paragraph (1), to detect and mitigate intrusions and anomalous activity.
(b) Prioritizing advanced security tools
The Director and the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate agencies, shall—
(1) review and update Government-wide policies and programs to ensure appropriate prioritization and use of network security monitoring tools within agency networks; and
(2) brief appropriate congressional committees on such prioritization and use.
(c) Improved metrics
The Secretary, in collaboration with the Director, shall review and update the metrics used to measure security under
(d) Transparency and accountability
The Director, in consultation with the Secretary, shall increase transparency to the public on agency cybersecurity posture, including by increasing the number of metrics available on Federal Government performance websites and, to the greatest extent practicable, displaying metrics for department components, small agencies, and micro-agencies.
(e) Omitted
(f) Exception
The requirements under this section shall not apply to the Department of Defense, a national security system, or an element of the intelligence community.
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Editorial Notes
Codification
Section is comprised of section 224 of title II of div. N of
§1523. Federal cybersecurity requirements
(a) Implementation of Federal cybersecurity standards
Consistent with
(b) Cybersecurity requirements at agencies
(1) In general
Consistent with policies, standards, guidelines, and directives on information security under subchapter II of
(A) identify sensitive and mission critical data stored by the agency consistent with the inventory required under the first subsection (c) (relating to the inventory of major information systems) and the second subsection (c) (relating to the inventory of information systems) of
(B) assess access controls to the data described in subparagraph (A), the need for readily accessible storage of the data, and individuals' need to access the data;
(C) encrypt or otherwise render indecipherable to unauthorized users the data described in subparagraph (A) that is stored on or transiting agency information systems;
(D) implement a single sign-on trusted identity platform for individuals accessing each public website of the agency that requires user authentication, as developed by the Administrator of General Services in collaboration with the Secretary; and
(E) implement identity management consistent with
(i) remote access to an agency information system; and
(ii) each user account with elevated privileges on an agency information system.
(2) Exception
The requirements under paragraph (1) shall not apply to an agency information system for which—
(A) the head of the agency has personally certified to the Director with particularity that—
(i) operational requirements articulated in the certification and related to the agency information system would make it excessively burdensome to implement the cybersecurity requirement;
(ii) the cybersecurity requirement is not necessary to secure the agency information system or agency information stored on or transiting it; and
(iii) the agency has taken all necessary steps to secure the agency information system and agency information stored on or transiting it; and
(B) the head of the agency or the designee of the head of the agency has submitted the certification described in subparagraph (A) to the appropriate congressional committees and the agency's authorizing committees.
(3) Construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter the authority of the Secretary, the Director, or the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in implementing subchapter II of
(c) Exception
The requirements under this section shall not apply to the Department of Defense, a national security system, or an element of the intelligence community.
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Editorial Notes
References in Text
The text of
1 See References in Text note below.
§1524. Assessment; reports
(a) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Agency information
The term "agency information" has the meaning given the term in section 2213 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 [
(2) Cyber threat indicator; defensive measure
The terms "cyber threat indicator" and "defensive measure" have the meanings given those terms in
(3) Intrusion assessments
The term "intrusion assessments" means actions taken under the intrusion assessment plan to identify and remove intruders in agency information systems.
(4) Intrusion assessment plan
The term "intrusion assessment plan" means the plan required under section 2210(b)(1) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 [
(5) Intrusion detection and prevention capabilities
The term "intrusion detection and prevention capabilities" means the capabilities required under section 2213(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 [
(b) Third-party assessment
Not later than 3 years after December 18, 2015, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study and publish a report on the effectiveness of the approach and strategy of the Federal Government to securing agency information systems, including the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities and the intrusion assessment plan.
(c) Reports to Congress
(1) Intrusion detection and prevention capabilities
(A) Secretary of Homeland Security report
Not later than 6 months after December 18, 2015, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the status of implementation of the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities, including—
(i) a description of privacy controls;
(ii) a description of the technologies and capabilities utilized to detect cybersecurity risks in network traffic, including the extent to which those technologies and capabilities include existing commercial and noncommercial technologies;
(iii) a description of the technologies and capabilities utilized to prevent network traffic associated with cybersecurity risks from transiting or traveling to or from agency information systems, including the extent to which those technologies and capabilities include existing commercial and noncommercial technologies;
(iv) a list of the types of indicators or other identifiers or techniques used to detect cybersecurity risks in network traffic transiting or traveling to or from agency information systems on each iteration of the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities and the number of each such type of indicator, identifier, and technique;
(v) the number of instances in which the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities detected a cybersecurity risk in network traffic transiting or traveling to or from agency information systems and the number of times the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities blocked network traffic associated with cybersecurity risk; and
(vi) a description of the pilot established under section 2213(c)(5) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 [
(B) OMB report
Not later than 18 months after December 18, 2015, and annually thereafter, the Director shall submit to Congress, as part of the report required under
(i) a list of each agency and the degree to which each agency has applied the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities to an agency information system; and
(ii) a list by agency of—
(I) the number of instances in which the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities detected a cybersecurity risk in network traffic transiting or traveling to or from an agency information system and the types of indicators, identifiers, and techniques used to detect such cybersecurity risks; and
(II) the number of instances in which the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities prevented network traffic associated with a cybersecurity risk from transiting or traveling to or from an agency information system and the types of indicators, identifiers, and techniques used to detect such agency information systems.
(C) Chief information officer
Not earlier than 18 months after December 18, 2015, and not later than 2 years after December 18, 2015, the Federal Chief Information Officer shall review and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report assessing the intrusion detection and intrusion prevention capabilities, including—
(i) the effectiveness of the system in detecting, disrupting, and preventing cyber-threat actors, including advanced persistent threats, from accessing agency information and agency information systems;
(ii) whether the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities, continuous diagnostics and mitigation, and other systems deployed under subtitle D 1 of title II of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (
(iii) the costs and benefits of the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities, including as compared to commercial technologies and tools and including the value of classified cyber threat indicators; and
(iv) the capability of agencies to protect sensitive cyber threat indicators and defensive measures if they were shared through unclassified mechanisms for use in commercial technologies and tools.
(2) OMB report on development and implementation of intrusion assessment plan, advanced internal defenses, and Federal cybersecurity requirements
The Director shall—
(A) not later than 6 months after December 18, 2015, and 30 days after any update thereto, submit the intrusion assessment plan to the appropriate congressional committees;
(B) not later than 1 year after December 18, 2015, and annually thereafter, submit to Congress, as part of the report required under
(i) a description of the implementation of the intrusion assessment plan;
(ii) the findings of the intrusion assessments conducted pursuant to the intrusion assessment plan;
(iii) a description of the advanced network security tools included in the efforts to continuously diagnose and mitigate cybersecurity risks pursuant to
(iv) a list by agency of compliance with the requirements of
(C) not later than 1 year after December 18, 2015, submit to the appropriate congressional committees—
(i) a copy of the plan developed pursuant to
(ii) the improved metrics developed pursuant to
(d) Form
Each report required under this section shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
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Editorial Notes
References in Text
Subtitle D of title II of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, referred to in subsec. (c)(1)(C)(ii), is subtitle D (§§231–237) of title II of
Amendments
2022—Subsec. (a)(2).
2018—Subsec. (a)(1).
Subsec. (a)(4).
Subsec. (a)(5).
Subsec. (c)(1)(A)(vi).
1 See References in Text note below.
§1525. Termination
(a) In general
The authority provided under
(b) Rule of construction
Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to affect the limitation of liability of a private entity for assistance provided to the Secretary under section 663(d)(2) 1 of this title, if such assistance was rendered before the termination date under subsection (a) or otherwise during a period in which the assistance was authorized.
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Editorial Notes
Amendments
2024—Subsec. (a).
2022—Subsec. (a).
2018—Subsec. (a).
Subsec. (b).
1 So in original. Probably should be "663(c)(2)".
§1526. Inventory of cryptographic systems; migration to post-quantum cryptography
(a) Inventory
(1) Establishment
Not later than 180 days after December 21, 2022, the Director of OMB, in coordination with the National Cyber Director and in consultation with the Director of CISA, shall issue guidance on the migration of information technology to post-quantum cryptography, which shall include at a minimum—
(A) a requirement for each agency to establish and maintain a current inventory of information technology in use by the agency that is vulnerable to decryption by quantum computers, prioritized using the criteria described in subparagraph (B);
(B) criteria to allow agencies to prioritize their inventory efforts; and
(C) a description of the information required to be reported pursuant to subsection (b).
(2) Additional content in guidance
In the guidance established by paragraph (1), the Director of OMB shall include, in addition to the requirements described in that paragraph—
(A) a description of information technology to be prioritized for migration to post-quantum cryptography; and
(B) a process for evaluating progress on migrating information technology to post-quantum cryptography, which shall be automated to the greatest extent practicable.
(3) Periodic updates
The Director of OMB shall update the guidance required under paragraph (1) as the Director of OMB determines necessary, in coordination with the National Cyber Director and in consultation with the Director of CISA.
(b) Agency reports
Not later than 1 year after December 21, 2022, and on an ongoing basis thereafter, the head of each agency shall provide to the Director of OMB, the Director of CISA, and the National Cyber Director—
(1) the inventory described in subsection (a)(1); and
(2) any other information required to be reported under subsection (a)(1)(C).
(c) Migration and assessment
Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Director of NIST has issued post-quantum cryptography standards, the Director of OMB shall issue guidance requiring each agency to—
(1) prioritize information technology described under subsection (a)(2)(A) for migration to post-quantum cryptography; and
(2) develop a plan to migrate information technology of the agency to post-quantum cryptography consistent with the prioritization under paragraph (1).
(d) Interoperability
The Director of OMB shall ensure that the prioritizations made under subsection (c)(1) are assessed and coordinated to ensure interoperability.
(e) Office of Management and Budget reports
(1) Report on post-quantum cryptography
Not later than 15 months after December 21, 2022, the Director of OMB, in coordination with the National Cyber Director and in consultation with the Director of CISA, shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives a report on the following:
(A) A strategy to address the risk posed by the vulnerabilities of information technology of agencies to weakened encryption due to the potential and possible capability of a quantum computer to breach that encryption.
(B) An estimate of the amount of funding needed by agencies to secure the information technology described in subsection (a)(1)(A) from the risk posed by an adversary of the United States using a quantum computer to breach the encryption of the information technology.
(C) A description of Federal civilian executive branch coordination efforts led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including timelines, to develop standards for post-quantum cryptography, including any Federal Information Processing Standards developed under
(2) Report on migration to post-quantum cryptography in information technology
Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Director of OMB issues guidance under subsection (c)(2), and thereafter until the date that is 5 years after the date on which post-quantum cryptographic standards are issued, the Director of OMB, in coordination with the National Cyber Director and in consultation with the Director of CISA, shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives, with the report submitted pursuant to
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Editorial Notes
Codification
Section was enacted as part of the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, and not as part of the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 which comprises this chapter.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023.
Findings; Sense of Congress
"(a)
"(1) Cryptography is essential for the national security of the United States and the functioning of the economy of the United States.
"(2) The most widespread encryption protocols today rely on computational limits of classical computers to provide cybersecurity.
"(3) Quantum computers might one day have the ability to push computational boundaries, allowing us to solve problems that have been intractable thus far, such as integer factorization, which is important for encryption.
"(4) The rapid progress of quantum computing suggests the potential for adversaries of the United States to steal sensitive encrypted data today using classical computers, and wait until sufficiently powerful quantum systems are available to decrypt it.
"(b)
"(1) a strategy for the migration of information technology of the Federal Government to post-quantum cryptography is needed; and
"(2) the governmentwide and industrywide approach to post-quantum cryptography should prioritize developing applications, hardware intellectual property, and software that can be easily updated to support cryptographic agility."
Exemption of National Security Systems
Definitions
"(1)
"(A) means any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory agency; and
"(B) does not include—
"(i) the Government Accountability Office; or
"(ii) the governments of the District of Columbia and of the territories and possessions of the United States, and their various subdivisions.
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