Report Was Required by Peters’ Law to Help Protect K-12 School Systems
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tuesday, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following statement applauding the first comprehensive report by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on how K-12 schools can improve their cybersecurity defenses. The report was required by a bipartisan law written by Peters to enhance cybersecurity assistance to K-12 educational institutions across the country:
“This report is an important step to helping K-12 schools across the country protect themselves against cyber-attacks that put the personal information of students and staff at risk. K-12 schools are increasingly targeted by criminal hackers, and this new resource from CISA makes easy-to-understand guidance about cybersecurity risks readily available to the schools that need it most. I was proud to author the law requiring this report, and I will continue working to tackle evolving cybersecurity threats.”
As Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters has led efforts to strengthen our nation’s cybersecurity. In addition to the K-12 Cybersecurity Act, he also wrote a law that, for the first time ever, requires critical infrastructure owners and operators to report to the federal government if they experience a substantial cyber-attack or if they make a ransomware payment. Peters’ bipartisan bills to bolster cybersecurity for state and local governments, strengthen the federal cybersecurity workforce, and help secure federal information technology supply chains were also signed into law last Congress. The Chairman secured several provisions in the bipartisan infrastructure law to bolster cybersecurity – including $100 million fund to help victims of a serious cyber-attack recover quickly. Peters also released an investigative report on the role cryptocurrencies continue to play in emboldening and incentivizing cybercriminals to commit ransomware attacks that pose an increasing national security threat.
###
