§7401 Findings

Summary

Congress requires a big increase in federal support for computer and network security research and development. Government, business, science, and schools are now tied together in one large physical and electronic network that includes electric power, gas and oil, telecom, transport, water, banks, and emergency services. This greater connection helps people and the economy, but also makes failures more serious. A 1997 Department of Defense exercise showed the country was not ready for a coordinated cyber and physical attack. Current security work lacks steady long‑term funding, good coordination across government, schools, and industry, and enough top researchers. Federal investment must be greatly increased to find and fix vulnerabilities, grow the number of information security professionals and researchers, and improve sharing and cooperation among industry, government, and academia. African‑Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans make up 25 percent of the U.S. workforce and 30 percent of the college‑age population, but less than 7 percent of the computer and information science workforce.