Defend COVID Research from Hackers Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7708 To authorize the imposition of sanctions on certain foreign persons that have threatened the national security, foreign policy, public health, or economic health or financial stability of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 21, 2020 Mr. MCCARTHY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Af- fairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To authorize the imposition of sanctions on certain foreign persons that have threatened the national security, for- eign policy, public health, or economic health or financial stability of the United States, 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 ‘‘Defend COVID Re- 4 search from Hackers Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7708 IH SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON 1 CERTAIN FOREIGN PERSONS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to 3 impose sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect 4 to any foreign person determined by the President— 5 (1) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 6 have engaged in, directly or indirectly, activities, in- 7 cluding cyber-enabled activities, originating from, or 8 directed by foreign persons that are reasonably likely 9 to result in, or have materially contributed to, a sig- 10 nificant threat to the national security, foreign pol- 11 icy, public health, or economic health or financial 12 stability of the United States and that have the pur- 13 pose or effect of— 14 (A) harming, or otherwise significantly 15 compromising the provision of services by a 16 computer or network of computers that support 17 one or more entities in a critical infrastructure 18 sector; 19 (B) significantly compromising the provi- 20 sion of services by one or more entities in a 21 critical infrastructure sector; 22 (C) causing a significant disruption to the 23 availability of a computer or network of com- 24 puters; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7708 IH (D) causing a significant misappropriation 1 of funds or economic resources, trade secrets, 2 personal identifiers, intellectual property, or fi- 3 nancial information for commercial or competi- 4 tive advantage or private financial gain; 5 (2) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 6 have engaged in, or to have knowingly materially 7 benefitted from, the receipt or use for commercial or 8 competitive advantage or private financial gain, of 9 funds or economic resources, trade secrets, personal 10 identifiers, intellectual property, or financial infor- 11 mation misappropriated through cyber-enabled ac- 12 tivities and with respect to which such actions are 13 reasonably likely to result in, or have materially con- 14 tributed to, a significant threat to the national secu- 15 rity, foreign policy, public health, or economic health 16 or financial stability of the United States; 17 (3) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or 18 provided financial, material, or technological support 19 for, or goods or services in support of— 20 (A) any activity described in paragraphs 21 (1) and (2); or 22 (B) any person whose property or interests 23 in property are blocked pursuant to this section; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7708 IH (4) to be owned or controlled by, or to have 1 acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly 2 or indirectly, any person whose property or interests 3 in property are blocked pursuant to this section; or 4 (5) to have attempted to engage in any of the 5 activities described in paragraphs (1) through (3). 6 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions to be 7 imposed with respect to a foreign person described in sub- 8 section (a) are the following: 9 (1) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The President 10 shall exercise all of the powers granted to the Presi- 11 dent by the International Emergency Economic 12 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (except that 13 the requirements of section 202 of such Act (50 14 U.S.C. 1701) shall not apply) to the extent nec- 15 essary to block and prohibit all transactions in prop- 16 erty and interests in property of the person if such 17 property and interests in property are in the United 18 States, come within the United States, or are or 19 come within the possession or control of a United 20 States person. 21 (2) INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN INDIVID- 22 UALS.— 23 (A) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, 24 OR PAROLE.—An alien who is a foreign person 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7708 IH under subsection (a), or an alien who is an offi- 1 cer or director of a foreign person under such 2 subsection, is— 3 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 4 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 5 documentation to enter the United States; 6 and 7 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 8 or paroled into the United States or to re- 9 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra- 10 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 11 seq.). 12 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.—An alien 13 who is a foreign person under subsection (a), or 14 an alien who is an officer or director of a for- 15 eign person under such subsection, is subject to 16 the following: 17 (i) Revocation of any visa or other 18 entry documentation regardless of when 19 the visa or other entry documentation is or 20 was issued. 21 (ii) A revocation under clause (i) 22 shall— 23 (I) take effect immediately; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7708 IH (II) cancel any other valid visa or 1 entry documentation that is in the 2 foreign person’s or alien’s possession, 3 as the case may be. 4 (c) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in sub- 5 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International 6 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall 7 apply to a person that violates, attempts to violate, con- 8 spires to violate, or causes a violation of this section, in- 9 cluding regulations promulgated in accordance therewith, 10 to the same extent that such penalties apply to a person 11 that commits an unlawful act described in section 206(a) 12 of such Act. 13 (d) EXCEPTION.—Sanctions imposed pursuant to 14 this section shall not apply to an alien if admitting or pa- 15 roling the alien into the United States is necessary to per- 16 mit the United States to comply with the Agreement re- 17 garding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 18 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 19 November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 20 United States, or other applicable international obligations 21 of the United States. 22 (e) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH NATIONAL SECU- 23 RITY.—The following activities shall be exempt from sanc- 24 tions under this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7708 IH (1) Activities subject to the reporting require- 1 ments under title V of the National Security Act of 2 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.). 3 (2) Activities subject to any authorized intel- 4 ligence or law enforcement activities of the United 5 States. 6 (f) IMPLEMENTATION AND REGULATORY AUTHOR- 7 ITY.—The President is authorized to exercise all authori- 8 ties provided to the President under sections 203 and 205 9 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 10 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this Act and may 11 issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are nec- 12 essary to carry out this Act. 13 (g) EXCEPTION RELATED TO THE IMPORTATION OF 14 GOODS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and require- 16 ments to impose sanctions pursuant to this section 17 shall not include the authority or requirement to im- 18 pose sanctions on the importation of goods. 19 (2) GOOD DEFINED.—In this section, the term 20 ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or man-made sub- 21 stance, material, supply or manufactured product, 22 including inspection and test equipment and exclud- 23 ing technical data. 24 (h) REPORT ON CYBER-ENABLED ACTIVITIES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7708 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 2 retary of State, in consultation with the Director of 3 National Intelligence, shall submit to the appro- 4 priate congressional committees a report detailing 5 the extent of known cyber-enabled activities or at- 6 tempted cyber-enabled activities as described in this 7 section by foreign persons related to the 2019 novel 8 coronavirus and whether such activities qualify for 9 the imposition of sanctions pursuant to this section. 10 (2) FORM.—The report required under sub- 11 section (a) shall be unclassified but may contain a 12 classified annex. 13 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 15 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given such terms in 16 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 17 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 18 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 19 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 20 mittees’’ means— 21 (A) in the House of Representatives— 22 (i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7708 IH (ii) the Committee on Ways and 1 Means; and 2 (B) in the Senate— 3 (i) the Committee on Foreign Rela- 4 tions; and 5 (ii) the Committee on Banking, Hous- 6 ing, and Urban Affairs. 7 (3) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR.—The 8 term ‘‘critical infrastructure sector’’ means any of 9 the designated critical infrastructure sectors identi- 10 fied in Presidential Policy Directive 21. 11 (4) ENTITY.—The term ‘‘entity’’ means a part- 12 nership, association, trust, joint venture, corpora- 13 tion, group, subgroup, or other organization. 14 (5) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘for- 15 eign government’’ means any government of a coun- 16 try other than the United States. 17 (6) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 18 son’’ means an individual or entity that is not a 19 United States person. 20 (7) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’ with 21 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 22 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 23 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 24 result. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7708 IH (8) MISAPPROPRIATION.—The term ‘‘misappro- 1 priation’’ means any taking or obtaining by im- 2 proper means, without permission or consent, or 3 under false pretenses. 4 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in- 5 dividual or entity. 6 (10) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 7 ‘‘United States person’’ means any United States 8 citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized 9 under the laws of the United States or any jurisdic- 10 tion within the United States (including foreign 11 branches), or any person in the United States. 12 SEC. 3. STOPPING TRAFFICKING IN BOTNETS. 13 Section 1030 of title 18, United States Code, is 14 amended— 15 (1) in subsection (a)— 16 (A) in paragraph (7), by adding ‘‘or’’ at 17 the end; and 18 (B) by adding at the end the following new 19 paragraph: 20 ‘‘(8) knowingly traffics in access to a protected 21 computer, if the trafficker knows the protected com- 22 puter has been damaged in a manner prohibited by 23 this section.’’; 24 (2) in subsection (c)(3)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7708 IH (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 1 ‘‘(a)(4) or (a)(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)(4), (a)(7), 2 or (a)(8)’’; and 3 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 4 ‘‘(a)(4), or (a)(7)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)(4), 5 (a)(7), or (a)(8)’’; 6 (3) in subsection (e)— 7 (A) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ 8 at the end; 9 (B) in paragraph (12), by striking the pe- 10 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 11 (C) by adding at the end the following new 12 paragraph: 13 ‘‘(13) the term ‘traffic’ has the meaning given 14 such term in section 1029(e)(5) of this title.’’; and 15 (4) in subsection (g), by inserting ‘‘, except for 16 a violation of subsection (a)(8),’’ after ‘‘violation of 17 this section’’. 18 SEC. 4. INJUNCTIONS AGAINST FRAUD AND ABUSE. 19 Section 1345 of title 18, United States Code, is 20 amended— 21 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘FRAUD’’ 22 and inserting ‘‘FRAUD AND ABUSE’’; 23 (2) in subsection (a)— 24 (A) in paragraph (1)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7708.IH H7708 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7708 IH (i) subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; 1 or’’ and inserting a semicolon; 2 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 3 the semicolon and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing new subparagraph: 6 ‘‘(D) violating or about to violate section 7 1030(a)(5) of this title where such conduct has 8 caused or would cause damage (as defined in 9 section 1030) without authorization to 100 or 10 more protected computers (as defined in section 11 1030) during any 1-year period, including by— 12 ‘‘(i) damage of the protected com- 13 puters without authorization; or 14 ‘‘(ii) installing or maintaining control 15 over malicious software on the protected 16 computers that, without authorization, 17 have caused or would cause damage to the 18 protected computers;’’; and 19 (B) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘, a vio- 20 lation under subsection (a)(1)(D),’’ after ‘‘(as 21 defined in section 3322(d [Text truncated for display. 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