Empire State Today

On June 1, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined four of her Senate colleagues to introduce the Abraham Accords Cybersecurity Cooperation Act of 2023. This bipartisan legislation would build upon the recent expansion of the Abraham Accords into cybersecurity by authorizing cybersecurity cooperation between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Abraham Accords countries – Israel, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain – including participating in information-sharing, providing technical assistance to help partners respond to cybersecurity incidents, and conducting joint cybersecurity training and exercises. This increased partnership will help defend against shared cyber threats from Iran and other hostile cyber actors, including those targeting critical infrastructure and ransomware attacks. This bill is led by Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and also co-sponsored by Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and James Lankford (R-OK).

“The signing of the Abraham Accords was a historic milestone in forging a lasting peace in the Middle East and has encouraged cooperation and economic prosperity,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The bipartisan Abraham Accords Cybersecurity Cooperation Act would increase civil cybersecurity cooperation, strengthen our ability to protect critical infrastructure, and enable greater security in the region.”

Senator Gillibrand has made increasing our cyber defenses a priority by leading efforts for the creation of a Cyber Academy. As part of this effort, she created a scholarship-for-service program in the Fiscal Year 2023 defense bill that enables students to attend colleges designated as NSA-approved National Centers of Academic Excellence (NCAE) in Cybersecurity for free in exchange for service in the Department of Defense. New York State has nineteen institutions designated as NCAEs.

Original source can be found here.