Bill to strengthen cyber defenses passes

House.
by Greg Masters, SC Magazine

A bill that would provide

much needed financial support to
state and local governments in their
fight upon cybercrime has
unanimously passed the House.
The bill aptly called The State and
Local Cyber Protection Act of 2015 [H.R. 3869] is being pushed by Will Hurd Rep.
Texas. The bills intention is to connect the National Cybersecurity and Communications
Integration Center (NCCIC) and the Department of Homeland Securitys Cyber hub to
provide training to better prepare State and Local for Cyber Defense.
Hurd has been frequently criticizing the lapses in governmental safeguards on
the State and Local Information systems to the severity of the issues being faced. There
is not much on this article as it is currently on its way to the Senate.
There is nothing ethical in this bill other than the fact that not doing something
about cyber security in itself is an ethical issue. The unfortunate result of living in a
money focused country is justifying spending money on something that doesnt appear
to be beneficial to the success of the bottom line. Big corporations and governments
alike often fail to see the need as it hasnt happened to them yet. Everyone thinks they

are being safe and careful. Being prepared for an event that may never happen is the
best piece of mind one can have. As Murphys Law would seemingly, have bad things
happen to a person when they are in the worst position to deal with them. The same
reasoning needs to be applied to cyber security measures on a State or Local
Government level. Prepare for something ahead of time so Murphy wont come
knocking on the door.