Would help states bolster cyber defenses

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Corey Gardner (R-Colo.) have bridged the political divide to reintroduce a bill that would help state and local government's strengthen their cyber defenses.

Warner and Gardner are co-chairs of the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus.

The State Cyber Resiliency Act, which has a companion House version, would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to create and run a grant program for states "seeking to develop, revise or implement cyber resiliency measures."

The grant proposals would be reviewed by a 15-member committee.

The bill would also aim to enhance recruitment and retention of a cybersecurity workforce. That is driven by the fact that there are currently over 300,000 cybersecurity job openings, according to the Senators.

The legislation was first introduced over two years ago, where it was referred to Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and, according to Congress.gov, got no further.

Cybersecurity is much in the news of late, particularly given the prediction of millions of connected IoT devices on the near horizon.