§7401 Findings

Summary

Says federal investment in computer and network security research and development must be greatly increased. New computing and communications technology has tied together government, business, science, and schools into one large physical and electronic network. That network links vital systems like electric power, natural gas and petroleum, telecommunications, transportation, water, banking, finance, and emergency and government services. More interconnection has helped communication and the economy, but it also raises the risk and impact of short or long outages. A 1997 Department of Defense joint task force exercise showed the nation was not prepared for a coordinated cyber and physical attack on critical military and civilian systems. Current computer security work lacks enough long-term research money, good coordination among federal and state agencies and among government, academia, and industry, and enough top researchers. The investment increase must aim to improve vulnerability testing and technical fixes, grow the pool of information security professionals and researchers, and improve sharing and collaboration among industry, government, and universities. African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans make up 25 percent of the U.S. workforce and 30 percent of the college-age population, but they are less than 7 percent of the computer and information science workforce.