One Hundred Fifteenth Congress of the United States of America
2d Session
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen
S. 770
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
AN ACT
To require the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to disseminate guidance to help reduce small business cybersecurity risks, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Act
.
Improving cybersecurity of small businesses
Definitions
In this section:
Director
The term Director
means the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Resources
The term resources
means guidelines, tools, best practices, standards, methodologies, and other ways of providing information.
Small business concern
The term small business concern
has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
Small business cybersecurity
Section 2(e)(1)(A) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272(e)(1)(A)) is amended—
in clause (vii), by striking and
at the end;
by redesignating clause (viii) as clause (ix); and
by inserting after clause (vii) the following:
consider small business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)); and
.
Dissemination of resources for small businesses
In general
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director, in carrying out section 2(e)(1)(A)(viii) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act, as added by subsection (b) of this Act, in consultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall disseminate clear and concise resources to help small business concerns identify, assess, manage, and reduce their cybersecurity risks.
Requirements
The Director shall ensure that the resources disseminated pursuant to paragraph (1)—
are generally applicable and usable by a wide range of small business concerns;
vary with the nature and size of the implementing small business concern, and the nature and sensitivity of the data collected or stored on the information systems or devices of the implementing small business concern;
include elements, that promote awareness of simple, basic controls, a workplace cybersecurity culture, and third-party stakeholder relationships, to assist small business concerns in mitigating common cybersecurity risks;
include case studies of practical application;
are technology-neutral and can be implemented using technologies that are commercial and off-the-shelf; and
are based on international standards to the extent possible, and are consistent with the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
National cybersecurity awareness and education program
The Director shall ensure that the resources disseminated under paragraph (1) are consistent with the efforts of the Director under section 401 of the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 (15 U.S.C. 7451).
Small Business Development Center Cyber Strategy
In carrying out paragraph (1), the Director, to the extent practicable, shall consider any methods included in the Small Business Development Center Cyber Strategy developed under section 1841(a)(3)(B) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328).
Voluntary resources
The use of the resources disseminated under paragraph (1) shall be considered voluntary.
Updates
The Director shall review and, if necessary, update the resources disseminated under paragraph (1) in accordance with the requirements under paragraph (2).
Public availability
The Director and the head of each Federal agency that so elects shall make prominently available on the respective agency’s public Internet website information about the resources and updates to the resources disseminated under paragraph (1). The Director and the heads shall each ensure that the information they respectively make prominently available is consistent, clear, and concise.
Other Federal cybersecurity requirements
Nothing in this section may be construed to supersede, alter, or otherwise affect any cybersecurity requirements applicable to Federal agencies.
Funding
This Act shall be carried out using funds otherwise authorized to be appropriated or made available to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate
