The House on Monday evening passed a bill that would make permanent within the Department of Homeland Security cyber hunt and incident response teams that would work with federal agencies and the private sector to help prevent cyber attacks and mitigate their impacts when they do occur.
The Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act (H.R. 1158) passed by voice vote and passed the House in the last Congress. The bill was approved earlier this year by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The teams currently exist within DHS.
“These teams operate as cyber first responders, mitigating damage and ensuring organizations are restored,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), a sponsor of the bill in the House, said in a statement this spring when the House Homeland Security Committee approved the measure. He said the legislation “ensures DHS can foster collaboration between the private and public sectors. This will ensure our nation can continue to adapt to the constant changes in the cyber landscape.”
Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) sponsored the bill in the Senate and following passage by the House urged the Senate to pass the legislation.