Cyberattacks are wreaking havoc on government agencies. The U.S. Marshal Service was recently hacked, the agency’s second significant data breach in recent years. And in October, two federal agencies were infiltrated by remote monitoring software. These breaches are just a few of the many cybersecurity failures recently reported across the government. In the first half of 2022 alone, there were reportedly 2.75 billion .
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers is backing a legislative proposal that would create a program, similar to the National Guard, to deploy those with tech and security skills during significant cyberthreats, such as the recent SolarWinds supply chain attack and exploits of vulnerabilities in on-premises Microsoft Exchange servers.
The Civilian Cyber Security Reserve Act would create a pilot program that would provide the departments of Defense and Homeland Security with additional skilled personnel during large-scale cyberthreats.
Sens. Jacky Rosen (left) and Marsha Blackburn are co-sponsoring Civilian Cyber Security Reserve Act
Under the bill, the two departments could call up these cybersecurity reservists to serve in temporary positions as federal civil service employees.
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A civilian cybersecurity reserve corps is needed for the Pentagon and DHS, lawmakers from both parties say (scyther5/Getty Images) A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to create a civilian reserve corps of cybersecurity experts to help defend national security interests, amid concerns about growing digital threats to public and private networks and infrastructure. The Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve pilot program would bolster the workforces at the Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security by bringing in former federal employees and military veterans who are trained in the field and could respond to emergencies. Civilian reservists could give the federal government a fresh tool in its arsenal to protect networks and root out bad actors in cases like last year’s SolarWinds breach, in which Russian intelligence is suspected of compromising about 100 companies and about a dozen government agencies.