What This Bill Does
This bill creates a cybersecurity literacy campaign to teach Americans about protecting themselves from cyberattacks and online security risks. Congress believes the United States has a national security and economic interest in having citizens understand cybersecurity best practices.
Who It Affects
The American people receive education about cybersecurity. The Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information carries out the campaign.
Key Provisions
• The Assistant Secretary must develop a cybersecurity literacy campaign available in multiple languages and formats when practical to teach Americans how to prevent and reduce cyberattacks (Sec. 3(a)).
• The campaign must teach people how to identify phishing emails and messages and recognize secure websites (Sec. 3(b)(1)(A)).
• The campaign must encourage Americans to use cybersecurity tools including multi-factor authentication, complex passwords, anti-virus software, software updates and virtual private networks (Sec. 3(b)(1)(C)).
• The campaign must teach people about devices that pose cybersecurity risks, including computers, smartphones, tablets, Wi-Fi routers, smart home appliances, webcams and internet-connected monitors (Sec. 3(b)(1)(D)).
• The campaign must encourage Americans to review mobile app permissions, refuse unnecessary permission requests, download apps only from trusted sources and consider device security support before purchasing (Sec. 3(b)(1)(E)).
What Changes
If this becomes law, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information will create and run a cybersecurity awareness campaign teaching Americans practical security skills and best practices.
Important Definitions
Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1360
To establish a cybersecurity literacy campaign, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 3, 2023
Mr. OBERNOLTE (for himself and Ms. ESHOO) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To establish a cybersecurity literacy campaign, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Cybersecu-
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rity Literacy Act’’.
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SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
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It is the sense of the Congress that the United States
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has a national security and economic interest in promoting
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cybersecurity literacy amongst the general public.
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SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF CYBERSECURITY LITERACY
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CAMPAIGN.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall de-
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velop and conduct a cybersecurity literacy campaign
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(which shall be available in multiple languages and for-
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mats, if practicable) to increase the knowledge and aware-
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ness of the American people of best practices to reduce
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cybersecurity risks.
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(b) CAMPAIGN REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out
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subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall—
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(1) educate the American people on how to pre-
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vent and mitigate cyberattacks and cybersecurity
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risks, including by—
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(A) instructing the American people on
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how to identify—
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(i) phishing emails and messages; and
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(ii) secure websites;
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(B) instructing the American people about
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the benefits of changing default passwords on
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hardware and software technology;
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(C) encouraging the use of cybersecurity
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tools, including—
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(i) multi-factor authentication;
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(ii) complex passwords;
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(iii) anti-virus software;
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(iv) patching and updating software
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and applications; and
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(v) virtual private networks;
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(D) identifying the devices that could pose
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possible cybersecurity risks, including—
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(i) personal computers;
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(ii) smartphones;
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(iii) tablets;
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(iv) Wi-Fi routers;
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(v) smart home appliances;
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(vi) webcams;
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(vii) internet-connected monitors; and
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(viii) any other device that can be con-
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nected to the internet, including mobile de-
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vices other than smartphones and tablets;
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(E) encouraging Americans to—
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(i) regularly review mobile application
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permissions;
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(ii) decline privilege requests from mo-
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bile applications that are unnecessary;
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(iii) download applications only from
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trusted vendors or sources; and
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(iv) consider a product’s life cycle and
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the developer or manufacturer’s commit-
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ment to providing security updates during
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a connected device’s expected period of use;
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and
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(F) identifying the potential cybersecurity
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risks of using publicly available Wi-Fi networks
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and the methods a user may utilize to limit
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such risks; and
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(2) encourage the American people to use re-
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sources to help mitigate the cybersecurity risks iden-
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tified in this subsection.
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(c) ASSISTANT SECRETARY DEFINED.—In this sec-
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tion, the term ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ means the Assistant
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Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Informa-
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tion.
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Æ
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