House approves bill to bolster small business cybersecurity

The House on Wednesday approved legislation that would require the federal government to produce and disseminate guidance to help small businesses with cybersecurity. 

The bill, introduced by Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, passed by a voice vote.

{mosads}The legislation would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a nonregulatory standards laboratory housed in the Commerce Department, to produce cybersecurity resources for small businesses.

NIST produces and updates cybersecurity guidance for the public and private sectors that businesses can choose to use. President Trump signed an executive order on cybersecurity earlier this year ordering federal agencies to abide by the NIST framework. 

The NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Act of 2017 would direct NIST in coordination with other federal entities to offer additional resources to small businesses that choose to use its cybersecurity framework. Those resources would include guidelines, tools and best practices to help smaller organizations identify and reduce cybersecurity risks. 

The Senate passed similar legislation offered by Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) last month.