Congressman John Curtis (UT-03), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and cosponsor with Rep. Ted Yoho (FL-03) of H.R. 5576, the Cyber Deterrence and Response Act, addressed his colleagues on the House floor about the importance of protecting our country from state-sponsored cyber-attacks. H.R. 5576 passed the House today unanimously. “More than 30 nations are currently developing offensive cyber activities. This bill will help us better protect America’s critical infrastructure, national security, healthcare, energy, financial, transportation, and communications systems from hostile state-sponsored cyber-attacks. Additionally, this legislation is important to help us better protect American companies and manufacturers from hackers and cyber intruders. And maybe most importantly, H.R. 5576 will provide more tools for the U.S. to deter state-sponsored efforts to attack our democratic institutions and electoral systems,” Curtis said. Watch Congressman Curtis’ Floor Statement about the Cyber Deterrence and Response Act H.R. 5576, the Cyber Deterrence and Response Act: - authorizes the President, acting through the Secretary of State, to designate foreign persons or agencies of a foreign state that are responsible for or are complicit in state-sponsored cyber activities against the U.S. as “critical cyber threats.” - authorizes both travel and financial sanctions of individuals and agencies designated as critical cyber threats. - requires Congress to be briefed periodically on state-sponsored cyber activities against the U.S.