WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate Appropriations Committee today approved Senator Bob Bennett’s (R-Utah) $3 million request for cyber security research that will be conducted by a group of U.S. universities, including Utah State University (USU).
“Cyber security is an increasingly important issue, given our dependence on computer networks,” said Bennett, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Funding USU’s project will give companies the tools they need to build defenses that will better protect our computer systems from cyber attacks.”
The committee included $3 million requested by Bennett in the Fiscal Year 2009 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill for a group of universities, including USU, to research and analyze cyber threats on the finance and banking sectors.
At Bennett’s request the committee also included language in the bill to increase the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber security budget by $25 million. As a member of the Senate High-Tech Task Force, Bennett has focused on preventing cyber attacks from disrupting our financial services, telecommunications, transportation, and energy systems that rely on computer technology.
“With our private and public sectors more dependent on the Internet, our nation has become especially vulnerable to cyber terrorism,” said Bennett. “This collaborative effort by Utah State and some of the country’s top universities will give us the tools to respond effectively to any future cyber attacks.”
The spending measure is now placed on the Senate calendar and will be considered at a later date. Once passed by the Senate, the House and Senate will reconcile the differences between the two bills before voting on final passage.
