U.S. House passes cybersecurity research bill

The Cyber Security Research and Development Act of 2009, which passed by a vote of 422 to 5, authorizes the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a cybersecurity education program that can help consumers, businesses, and government workers keep their computers secure.

It also creates cybersecurity scholarship programs for college students and research centers, and asks NIST to boost development of identity management systems used to control access to buildings, computer networks, and data.

Federal agencies spend $6 billion a year on cybersecurity to protect the government's IT infrastructure and $356 million on research, according to the Office of Management and Budget. Despite that funding, a government review of its cybersecurity efforts last year concluded that they are not adequate to prepare the country against cyberattacks.

Under the measure, if it becomes law, NIST would have one year to deliver a plan to Congress detailing its plans to participate in international cybersecurity technical standards development and 90 days to deliver a plan describing a cybersecurity awareness and education program.

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