Two bipartisan cybersecurity bills were signed into law on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, by US President Joe Biden: the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act of 2021, and the State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act of 2021.
The Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act, which has been around since 2018, proposes a program under which certain federal employees can be temporarily moved to other agencies in an effort to boost their skills.
Agencies can determine whether a position involving IT or cybersecurity is eligible for the program. The Office of Personnel Management is tasked with creating an operation plan, and the Government Accountability Office must assess the effectiveness of the program.
The White House thanked Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), as well as Representatives Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) for their work on the Federal Rotational Cyber Workforce Program Act of 2021.
Senators Peters and Rosen have also been credited for the State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act of 2021, alongside Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.).
This piece of legislation is meant to improve collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and state, local, tribal and territorial governments.
The bill requires the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) to coordinate with the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) to aid state, local, tribal and territorial government entities with cybersecurity exercises, training, and education and awareness.
Related: Maryland Governor Signs Bills to Strengthen Cybersecurity
Related: House Passes Several Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Bills
Related: Lawmakers Introduce Combined Bill for Strengthening Critical Infrastructure Security
Related: Trump Signs Executive Order to Bolster Cybersecurity Workforce
Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
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