WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, joined Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) to introduce the CYBERLEAP Act of 2020, bipartisan legislation that would direct the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with relevant agencies, to establish “grand challenge” competitions to achieve high-priority breakthroughs in cybersecurity, including expanding our cybersecurity workforce, defending against artificial intelligence threats, and protecting our nation against cyberattacks.
“We put our nation at risk if we don’t invest in our cybersecurity workforce and infrastructure,” said Senator Rosen. “As our world becomes more digitized, I’m proud to help introduce this bill to assist our nation in developing a cybersecurity workforce with the skills needed to protect and maintain information systems and improve critical federal agencies’ security and safety. I will continue to support forward-thinking legislation that ensures our 21st-century workforce is equipped with next-generation communications technologies to keep our nation safe.”
BACKGROUND: The CYBER LEAP Act of 2020 would:
- Consistent with the recommendations from the Cybersecurity Moonshot Initiative, establish cybersecurity grand challenges on changing the economics of a cyber-attack, improve the cybersecurity workforce, advance efforts to defend against artificial intelligence, and reimagine digital identity.
- Leverage existing open innovation authorities to hold a series of prize competitions; and solicit recommendations from a presidential advisory committee on the scope and objectives of such competitions.
- Allow funding for the challenges to be pooled from multiple federal agencies and non-federal entities.
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