House passes cybersecurity bill
The House on February 4th, 2010, passed a bill aimed at building up the United States' cybersecurity army and expertise, amid growing alarm over the country’s vulnerability online.
The Caucus - The New York Times Feb 4th, 2010
The bill, which passed 422-5, requires the Obama administration to conduct an agency-by-agency assessment of cybersecurity workforce skills and establishes a scholarship program for undergraduate and graduate students who agree to work as cybersecurity specialists for the government after graduation.
As officials puzzle over how to defend the nation from enemies that are often impossible to pinpoint, the lawmakers behind the bill said education and recruitment are crucial.
“Investing in cybersecurity is the Manhattan Project of our generation,” Representative Michael Arcuri, Democrat of New York, a sponsor of the bill said on the House floor Wednesday. “But this time around we are facing far greater threat. Nearly every high school hacker has the potential to hamper our unfettered access to the Internet. Just imagine what a rogue state could do.”