§7401 Findings

Summary

Requires a big increase in federal research and money for computer and network security. It says our modern computers and communications tie together important systems like power, gas, phones, transport, water, banks, and emergency services. That extra connection helps people and the economy but also makes outages more harmful. A 1997 Department of Defense exercise showed we were not ready for a coordinated cyber and physical attack on military and civilian infrastructure. Says current computer security work lacks steady long-term funding, good coordination across federal and state agencies and among government, schools, and companies, and enough top researchers. The goals are to improve how we find and fix vulnerabilities, grow the pool of security professionals and researchers, and boost information sharing and teamwork. It also notes African‑Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans make up 25 percent of the workforce and 30 percent of the college‑age population but less than 7 percent of the computer and information science workforce.