Lawmakers move to defend pipelines against cyber threats

A bipartisan group of more than a dozen House lawmakers have reintroduced legislation to defend pipelines against cyberattacks, with the bill coming on the heels of the devastating ransomware attack that forced the shutdown of Colonial Pipeline.

The Pipeline Security Act would codify the responsibility of both the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) responsibility for securing pipelines against threats. The effort is being led by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).

It would also require TSA to update pipeline security guidelines and conduct risk assessments, create a personnel strategy for staffing its Pipeline Security Section and improve congressional oversight of TSA’s pipeline efforts.

LAWMAKERS TAKE ACTION PART TWO: Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and other bipartisan House lawmakers on Friday introduced legislation designed to protect critical systems against cyberattacks, a week after a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline significantly disrupted the fuel supply for portions of the country.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Cyber Exercise Act would require CISA, which is the nation’s key cyber risk agency, to establish a National Cyber Exercise Program to test critical infrastructure readiness against cyberattacks.

The legislation would also require CISA to help state and local governments, along with private industry, design and implement plans to evaluate the safety and security of critical infrastructure.