Bipartisan legislation has been signed into law to strengthen collaborative cybersecurity research and development efforts between the United States and Israel.
The legislation was introduced by Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies and Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, and the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, the United States-Israel Advanced Research Partnership Act of 2016 (HR 5877), after returning from a congressional delegation trip to Israel in July that focused on addressing key cybersecurity issues facing both countries.
“My work as a cybersecurity subcommittee chairman over the past two years has focused on ensuring American citizens are protected from the growing national security threats posed by malicious cyber actors who intend to do our nation harm. I’m glad I was able to work closely with Rep. Langevin to craft legislation to advance this important fight that is now the law of the land,” Ratcliffe said.
“Cybersecurity is the national and economic security challenge of our time, and we must use every resource at our disposal to support research, foster innovation, and fortify our cyber defenses. This must include a collaborative approach that allows us to work with our leading partners, like Israel, to develop new technologies for our cyber incident responders,” Langevin added. “Passage of this law will enhance cybersecurity for the United States and Israel, putting us on a shared path toward innovative solutions to the threats we face. I look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Ratcliffe to strengthen our relationship with Israel, including by passage of the United States-Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act next Congress.”
The lawmakers said their meetings with top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon, laid a critical foundation for their US-Israel cybersecurity legislation.
“When Rep. Langevin and I traveled to Israel earlier this year, our discussions with Israeli national security and cybersecurity leaders revealed the immense wealth of untapped potential we can leverage together to collectively vamp up our efforts to combat growing cyber threats. We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to work more closely with a country that’s a proven pioneer in cyber science and a top leader in cyber expertise,” Ratcliffe said.
A joint announcement by the two lawmakers said, “The United States-Israel Advanced Research Partnership Act expands a successful binational research and development program at the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency to include cybersecurity technologies. This collaboration between DHS and the Israeli Ministry of Public Security helps new products through the ‘valley of death’ between basic and early-phase applied research and successful commercialization, and will help both countries develop solutions to the unique security problems found in the cyber domain.”
