Sec. 209. Direction to agencies
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/bill/114/s/754/es/section-209·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 3553 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: Subject to subparagraph (B), in response to a known or reasonably suspected information security threat, vulnerability, or incident that represents a substantial threat to the information security of an agency, the Secretary may issue an emergency directive to the head of an agency to take any lawful action with respect to the operation of the information system, including such systems used or operated by another entity on behalf of an agency, that collects, processes, stores, transmits, disseminates, or otherwise maintains agency information, for the purpose of protecting the information system from, or mitigating, an information security threat.
The authorities of the Secretary under this subsection shall not apply to a system described subsection
(d)or to a system described in paragraph
(2)or
(3)of subsection (e). The Secretary shall— in coordination with the Director, establish procedures governing the circumstances under which a directive may be issued under this subsection, which shall include— thresholds and other criteria; privacy and civil liberties protections; and providing notice to potentially affected third parties; specify the reasons for the required action and the duration of the directive; minimize the impact of a directive under this subsection by— adopting the least intrusive means possible under the circumstances to secure the agency information systems; and limiting directives to the shortest period practicable; notify the Director and the head of any affected agency immediately upon the issuance of a directive under this subsection; consult with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology regarding any directive under this subsection that implements standards and guidelines developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology; ensure that directives issued under this subsection do not conflict with the standards and guidelines issued under section 11331 of title 40; consider any applicable standards or guidelines developed by the National Institute of Standards and issued by the Secretary of Commerce under section 11331 of title 40; and not later than February 1 of each year, submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report regarding the specific actions the Secretary has taken pursuant to paragraph (1)(A). Notwithstanding section 3554, the Secretary may authorize the intrusion detection and prevention capabilities under section 230(b)(1) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 for the purpose of ensuring the security of agency information systems, if— the Secretary determines there is an imminent threat to agency information systems; the Secretary determines a directive under subsection (b)(2)(C) or paragraph (1)(A) is not reasonably likely to result in a timely response to the threat; the Secretary determines the risk posed by the imminent threat outweighs any adverse consequences reasonably expected to result from the use of protective capabilities under the control of the Secretary; the Secretary provides prior notice to the Director, and the head and chief information officer (or equivalent official) of each agency to which specific actions will be taken pursuant to subparagraph (A), and notifies the appropriate congressional committees and authorizing committees of each such agencies within seven days of taking an action under this subsection of— any action taken under this subsection; and the reasons for and duration and nature of the action; the action of the Secretary is consistent with applicable law; and the Secretary authorizes the use of protective capabilities in accordance with the advance procedures established under subparagraph (C). The authority under this subsection may not be delegated by the Secretary. The Secretary shall, in coordination with the Director, and in consultation with the heads of Federal agencies, establish procedures governing the circumstances under which the Secretary may authorize the use of protective capabilities subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall submit the procedures to Congress. The Secretary may direct or authorize lawful action or protective capability under this subsection only to— protect agency information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction; or require the remediation of or protect against identified information security risks with respect to— information collected or maintained by or on behalf of an agency; or that portion of an information system used or operated by an agency or by a contractor of an agency or other organization on behalf of an agency. Not later than February 1 of each year, the Director shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report regarding the specific actions the Director has taken pursuant to subsection (a)(5), including any actions taken pursuant to section 11303(b)(5) of title 40. In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. . Section 3554(a)(1)(B) of title 44, United States Code, is amended— in clause (iii), by striking and at the end; and by adding at the end the following: emergency directives issued by the Secretary under section 3553(h); and .