Tampa Republic

Today, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 9769, known as the Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act. This bill, developed by the House Homeland Security Committee, seeks to address increasing cyber threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against critical U.S. infrastructure.

In September, Congresswoman Laurel Lee (FL-15), along with Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (TN-07), and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (MI-02), introduced this legislation. It proposes an interagency task force led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The aim is to tackle cybersecurity threats posed by state-sponsored actors associated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Notable threats include ‘Volt Typhoon’ and other PRC-affiliated cyber entities targeting U.S. telecommunications providers.

"Earlier this year, the FBI confirmed Chinese hackers infiltrated American infrastructure and accessed information from systems used by the federal government. We cannot allow our foreign adversaries to continue to attack the critical infrastructure Americans rely on every day which is vital to the nation’s economy,” said Rep. Laurel Lee. “I am pleased to see my bill, the Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act, pass the House which will establish a task force and implement a focused, coordinated, and whole-of-government response to stop China's targeting of our critical infrastructure."

Chairman Green added that "as the Chinese Communist Party grows increasingly brazen in cyberspace," his colleagues took decisive steps toward ensuring a comprehensive governmental response against these threat actors. He emphasized that "the real-world consequences for all Americans will be devastating if we don’t combat these intrusions going forward."

Chairman Moolenaar remarked on revelations earlier in a Select Committee hearing where FBI Director Wray disclosed that Volt Typhoon infiltrated American critical infrastructure with malware intended for future cyber-attacks: “I’m proud to co-sponsor this legislation led by Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) that will help protect the American people.”

The act mandates an annual classified report for five years detailing findings related to malicious CCP cyber activity presented before Congress. Its passage coincides with ongoing assessments by CSRB regarding intrusions into telecommunication networks attributed to another CCP-affiliated actor dubbed “Salt Typhoon” by Microsoft.