"Congress Looks to Expand CISA’s Role, Adding Responsibilities For Satellites And Open Source Software"
Lawmakers recently passed a series of bills to give the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) new responsibilities when it comes to safeguarding open source software, protecting U.S. critical infrastructure, and expanding the cybersecurity workforce. The House Homeland Security Committee advanced a bill that would require CISA to maintain a commercial public satellite system clearinghouse and create voluntary cybersecurity recommendations for the space sector. Additionally, the committee advanced legislation requiring CISA to create a pilot civilian cyber reserve program to respond to incidents. The House Homeland Security Committee also advanced legislation requiring CISA to work with the open source community to better secure it and create a framework to assess the general risks of open source components for federal agencies. The House also advanced another bill that would give CISA the authority to train employees at DHS that aren’t currently in cybersecurity positions to move to such a role.