Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to raising awareness and enhancing the state of computer security in the United States, and supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise today in support the passage of House Resolution 993 to support the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness Month. This year, that month was in October, and while it is now November, I believe it is important to recognize the need for cyber security awareness not just in one month but throughout the entire year.

The Internet and the computers we use on a daily basis have become commonplace in our lives. Over 205 million Americans use the Internet on a regular basis, and that number is growing. Companies, both large and small, increasingly rely on the Internet and information technology systems to manage their business, expand their customer reach and enhance their connection with their supply chain.

With computers becoming less expensive and access to the Internet easier to accomplish, many dangers associated with on-line behavior are becoming more and more common. These threats range from spam, viruses and identity theft to complex computer attacks created by organized crime and terrorist organizations designed to steal personal financial information and create general havoc.

The Internet has become an invaluable tool in educating our children. Almost 90 percent of all youth use the Internet, and the vast majority of those say they use the Internet at school. As more and more children use the Internet, it is important that they are taught to use this tool in a safe, secure and ethical way. This will not only protect their own systems from attack, but will protect their physical safety and help them become good cyber citizens.

Cyber security is also a critical part of our Nation's overall homeland security. In particular, the control systems that control and monitor our drinking water, our dams and other water management systems, our electrical grids, oil and gas supplies, our transportation systems and other critical manufacturing processes are connected to the Internet. It is possible for terrorist organizations to disrupt a number of our critical infrastructure systems and do serious damage to our economy without even entering our country. Clearly, with much of the Nation's critical infrastructure connected to the Internet, appropriate cyber security practices are essential to our overall security.

It is not just terrorists that seek to do harm via computers and the Internet. More and more criminal activity is occurring in borderless cyber space. Through the Internet, international criminals can attack our computers through virus, worms and unwanted programs such as spyware and password stealers that can cause significant financial and personal privacy losses due to identity theft and fraud.

Organizations such as the National Cyber Security Alliance are making it their mission to increase awareness of cyber security practices and technologies to home users, students, teachers and small businesses. These organizations deserve to be recognized for their good work and supported as much as possible to spread the awareness of good cyber security.

This organization's work is paying off. Cyber security awareness is growing. The Department of Homeland Security has recognized its importance by naming finally an Assistant Secretary for Cyber Security and Telecommunications, but there is much more work to be done. More government agencies, private sector companies, academic institutions, consumers and the media have to recognize the importance in establishing appropriate cyber security in their computers and information systems.

We, as a Congress, have a large role to play in encouraging the use of proper cyber security practices and technologies throughout our country. National Cyber Security Awareness Month provides a solid platform from which to improve cyber security awareness in this country, and I am pleased that this Congress is supporting its goals and ideals. As I have said, we have much work to do, but being aware of the need for cyber security is a necessary, essential first step.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 993) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to raising awareness and enhancing the state of computer security in the United States, and supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on H. Res. 993, the resolution now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 993, a resolution to applaud the goals and activities of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Computers and the Internet have been integrated into our daily routine in businesses, schools and homes. These information and communication systems underpin our government, and they increase the productivity of our industries, financial institutions and transportation systems. However, our increasing dependence on computers and computer networks exposes our society to the risks of cyber attacks, destructive viruses, malicious hacking, and identity theft.

This is why the National Cyber Security Alliance, a cooperative effort between government, academia and industry, has organized National Cyber Security Awareness Month for each of the past 3 years and has already begun planning for the next National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October 2007. As is only proper for a cyber security-related effort, there is a central Web site that is available all year round with on-line resources that offer tips and tools to help computer users protect themselves from viruses, worms, hacker attacks, identity theft, spyware and more.

In addition to these on-line resources, during National Cyber Security Awareness Month there are events all over the country on specific cyber security topics aimed at consumers, students, children, parents, small businesses and educational institutions. Attorneys general from 41 States and the District of Columbia have signed on to a resolution like H. Res. 993, supporting National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The National Cyber Security Alliance, in partnership with the Small Business Administration, sponsored a series of workshops to provide people from small businesses and nonprofit organizations with access to cyber security training developed by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. In total, some sort of event on cyber security took place in 49 States during the month.

Of course, cyber security is not just an issue in October, but year round. National Cyber Security Awareness Month is a chance not only to raise awareness about computer vulnerabilities and threats, but also to inform people about programs that exist throughout the U.S. to educate students, parents, businesspeople, local law enforcement and government employees about cyber security and to attract students into careers in information technology.

For example, the National Science Foundation supports a program at the University of South Carolina in which undergraduates studying computer science and undergraduates training to be teachers team up on summer cyber security projects to get the experience of what actually doing research is like and to explore how the projects might be used to communicate about cyber security to K-12 students and to the general public.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Chairman Lungren, Ms. Sanchez, Chairman Boehlert, Mr. Gordon, Chairman King and Mr. Thompson for introducing this resolution. We applaud the associations, companies, organizations and agencies involved in National Cyber Security Awareness Month for their efforts to help all of us to become more responsible, safer computer users.

I urge my colleagues to support adoption of the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for the time.

I rise in strong support of House Resolution 993 and the goals and ideals of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and I am proud to be one of the original cosponsors of this resolution.

I believe that raising awareness about the need to enhance computer and network security in the U.S. is a valuable tool to protect the identities and data of all Americans.

As the ranking member on the Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection and Cyber Security Subcommittee on the Committee on Homeland Security, I have had an opportunity to work on critical issues related to cyber security.

In the past, I have offered a number of amendments to various bills to increase our investment in cyber security research and development at the Department of Homeland Security, and I hope that in the next Congress we will make significant progress in this area.

I believe that we need to pay more attention to the state of cyber security because it affects all of us, from the government and large corporations to small businesses and, of course, to individuals.

Our country's infrastructure relies on secure information networks that ensure the reliable functioning of everything from public finance and control of water systems to the operation of electrical grids and emergency response systems.

For all of us, all Americans, our information infrastructure is an integral

part of our daily life, allowing us to communicate with friends and family, and pay bills and manage our business.

Imagine, if we go to the ATM and our money is gone, and this all leads back to some break in some network. At that point, we are going to realize just how important this is and how this can impact us on a daily basis.

It is the reliance on these information networks, these networks that are so much a part of our lives, and that is why it makes it such a great potential for targeted attacks by people who wish to harm us. And this type of attack would be devastating to our physical safety, as well as the economic security of our country. That is the reason I think that government needs to be a leader in the field of cyber security.

When I was talking to some of my companies about this, they said the simplest thing, about like over 50 percent of the people that use a network system do not use passwords. We should be using passwords. Those who use passwords may use something like the name of our dog or our pet; well, anybody who knows you can guess that or can get that name.

So I went through and I changed my passwords, and I changed Gretsky off of my passwords and everything else. Why? Because we need to. These are very simple, individual things that we can do because if once a person gets into the network, it goes much wider than that and can go into banking institutions and can go into the House of Representatives, et cetera.

So I urge my colleagues to support the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness Month. I hope every small business will take advantage of some of the free information with respect to making our networks safe.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. It expresses congressional support for the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

This resolution, which I cosponsored, is an effort to increase awareness across the Nation of the dangers lurking in cyber space. It is also to educate Americans about the availability of tools and practices to minimize these dangers.

I want to congratulate the National Cyber Security Alliance for originating the idea for this observance and for its efforts to improve cyber security.

The National Cyber Security Alliance is a public/private partnership led by industry. It is focused on improving cyber security for home users, small businesses and educational institutions.

The Alliance seeks to alert computer users to threats such as viruses, hacking attacks and identity theft. Additionally, it provides information to users on best practices and technologies available for countering cyber threats.

Each year, nearly 10 million Americans are affected by identity theft, and it cost businesses almost $56 billion in 2004. I frequently hear from my constituents in Sacramento about their experiences with identity theft and questions on how to avoid being a victim.

Consumer awareness has proven to be an effective weapon against identity theft, especially regarding Internet security. In fact, I received an overwhelmingly positive response when I hosted an information session on preventing identity theft in Sacramento.

National Cyber Security Awareness Month includes a range of special events designed specifically for home users, small businesses and the education community.

To reach its objectives, the Alliance organizes national and regional events. These events range from small business workshops and student assemblies to cyber security boot camps, which would take consumer education to the grass-roots level. The Alliance also makes public service announcements to inform consumers about on-line best practices and to protect their valuable personal data, and it publicizes its on- line resources for computer users. This includes beginner guides, computer security tips and free security scans.

The resolution before the House calls attention to and endorses the commendable efforts of the National Cyber Security Alliance to increase awareness of cyber security throughout the Nation. This is a message we should all heed.

Mr. Speaker, I commend this resolution to my colleagues and ask for their support for its passage by the House.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I urge passage of the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 993, a resolution to applaud the goals and activities of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Information technology is becoming a critical part of our society, from wireless phones and blackberries to electronic medical records, and public trust in the security and reliability of these systems is necessary for the U.S. to realize the economic and societal benefits of new technologies.

Cybersecurity is also an important part of homeland security. The Science Committee has heard testimony from energy, electric power, and telecommunications companies about their dependence on information systems and their concerns about the nation's vulnerability to cyber attacks. The connectedness of the Internet means that each person not only must protect himself in cyberspace but also that each person's cybersecurity efforts contribute to the nation's overall state of cyber and homeland security. Progress is being made, but we as a Nation still have a long way to go.

Cybersecurity has long been a priority of mine, and I am proud to represent New York State, which has long been at the forefront of developing new cybersecurity tools and training people in information security.

In my district, the Air Force's Rome Laboratory is a world leader in cybersecurity research programs to strengthen and protect the systems used by the military, and to develop forensic tools used by law enforcement at all levels. The laboratory also hosts innovative cybersecurity education programs including an annual Cyber Security Boot Camp to train ROTC cadets and civilian undergraduate students from all over the country in cutting edge cybersecurity techniques.

The Cyber Security Boot Camp has also led to the creation of a high school-level course in cybersecurity being taught at Rome Catholic High School in my district. This 20-week elective course will soon be accredited by the New York State Board of Education and can serve as a model for cybersecurity education nationwide.

As part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the University of Rochester hosted the 10-day Rochester Security Summit in collaboration with higher education, business and industry partners, and New York State ran a Poster Art Contest, open to all 4th and 5th grade students in the State, for art that illustrated how to use computers and the Internet safely.

I urge my colleagues to support adoption of H. Res. 993.