Securing American Research from Cyber Theft Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3747 To provide for a pilot project for a nationwide network of secure computing enclaves for federally funded research in universities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 8, 2021 Mr. BABIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To provide for a pilot project for a nationwide network of secure computing enclaves for federally funded re- search in universities, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing American Re- 4 search from Cyber Theft Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 The purposes of this Act are to help institutions of 7 higher education protect federally funded research from 8 cyber theft and interference by— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3747.IH H3747 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3747 IH (1) directing the Networking and Information 1 Technology Research and Development Program to 2 provide for support and guidance on improving the 3 security of academic computing and networking sys- 4 tems that process, store, and transmit federally 5 funded research; and 6 (2) establishing a pilot program to support re- 7 gional secure computing enclaves for academia to 8 provide researchers with secure data storage and 9 adequately protect Federal Government data. 10 SEC. 3. NETWORKING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 11 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT UPDATE. 12 Section 101(a)(1) of the High-Performance Com- 13 puting Act of 1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511) is amended— 14 (1) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘(J) provide for improving the security, re- 17 liability, and resiliency of computing and net- 18 working systems used by institutions of higher 19 education and other nonprofit research institu- 20 tions for the processing, storage and trans- 21 mission of sensitive federally funded research 22 and associated data;’’; and 23 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (J) through 24 (O) as subparagraphs (K) through (P), respectively. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3747.IH H3747 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3747 IH SEC. 4. COMPUTING ENCLAVE PILOT PROGRAM. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 2 Science Foundation, in consultation with the Director of 3 the National Institute of Standards and Technology and 4 the Secretary of Energy, shall award grants to establish 5 a pilot program to ensure the security of federally-sup- 6 ported research data and to assist regional institutions of 7 higher education and their researchers in compliance with 8 regulations regarding the safeguarding of sensitive infor- 9 mation and other relevant regulations and Federal guide- 10 lines. 11 (b) STRUCTURE.—In carrying out the pilot program 12 established pursuant to subsection (a), the Director shall 13 select three institutions of higher education from among 14 institutions classified under the Indiana University Center 15 for Postsecondary Research Carnegie Classification as a 16 doctorate-granting university with a very high level of re- 17 search activity, and with a history of working with secure 18 information for the development, installation, mainte- 19 nance, or sustainment of secure computing enclaves. 20 (c) REGIONALIZATION.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In selecting universities pur- 22 suant to subsection (b), the Director shall give pref- 23 erence to institutions of higher education with the 24 capability of serving other regional universities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3747.IH H3747 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3747 IH (2) GEOGRAPHIC DISPERSAL.—The enclaves 1 should be geographically dispersed to better meet the 2 needs of regional interests. 3 (d) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The Director shall work 4 with institutions of higher education selected pursuant to 5 subsection (b) to— 6 (1) develop an approved design blueprint for 7 compliance with Federal data protection protocols; 8 (2) develop a comprehensive and confidential 9 list, or a bill of materials, of each binary component 10 of the software, firmware, or product that is re- 11 quired to deploy additional secure computing en- 12 claves; 13 (3) develop templates for all policies and proce- 14 dures required to operate the secure computing en- 15 clave in a research setting; 16 (4) develop a system security plan template; 17 and 18 (5) develop a process for managing a plan of 19 action and milestones for the secure computing en- 20 clave. 21 (e) DURATION.—Subject to other availability of ap- 22 propriations, the pilot program established pursuant to 23 subsection (a) shall operate for not less than 3 years. 24 (f) REPORT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3747.IH H3747 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3747 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 1 Science Foundation shall report to Congress not 2 later than 6 months after the completion of the pilot 3 program under subsection (a). 4 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 5 paragraph (1) shall include— 6 (A) an assessment of the pilot program 7 under subsection (a), including an assessment 8 of the security benefits provided by such secure 9 computing enclaves; 10 (B) recommendations related to the value 11 of expanding the network of secure computing 12 enclaves; and 13 (C) recommendations on the efficacy of the 14 use of secure computing enclaves by other Fed- 15 eral agencies in a broader effort to expand se- 16 curity of Federal research. 17 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 18 authorized to be appropriated to the Director, 19 $38,000,000 for fiscal years 2022 through 2024, to carry 20 out the activities outlined in this section. 21 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 22 In this Act: 23 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 24 the Director of the National Science Foundation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3747.IH H3747 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3747 IH (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 1 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 2 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High- 3 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3747.IH H3747 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS