Congressional Research Service Reports - 1,008 Matching Results
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- Cybersecurity: Overview Reports and Links to Government, News, and Related Resources
- This report directs the reader to authoritative sources that address many of the most prominent issues related to cybersecurity. Included in the reports are resources and studies from government agencies (federal, state, local, and international), think tanks, academic institutions, news organizations, and other sources.
- Court-Ordered Access to Smart Phones: In Brief
- This report specifically examines certain encryption issues that have been raised in the investigation of the December 2, 2015, terrorist attack in San Bernardino, CA. This report highlights certain issues that policymakers may examine as they follow the ongoing dispute between law enforcement and technology companies, and it focuses on questions related to the government's request.
- Encryption and Evolving Technology: Implications for U.S. Law Enforcement Investigations
- This report provides an overview of the perennial issue involving technology outpacing law enforcement and discusses how policy makers and law enforcement officials have dealt with this issue in the past. It also outlines the current debate surrounding smartphone data encryption and how this may impact U.S. law enforcement operations, as well as existing law enforcement capabilities, the debate over whether law enforcement is "going dark" because of rapid technological advances, and resulting issues that policy makers may consider.
- The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities
- This report discusses the federal government's role in the country's information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) activities. Support of IT R&D began because the government had an important interest in creating computers and software that would be capable of addressing the problems and issues the government needed to solve and study.
- Renewed Crypto Wars?
- This report briefly examines renewed tensions between tech companies and the government regarding encryption "back doors" and how quickly-advancing technologies could impact law enforcement investigations.
- Is Broadband Deployment Reasonable and Timely?
- This report briefly discusses the state of broadband Internet in America as determined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in its latest Broadband Progress Report.
- Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents
- This report provides links to cybersecurity-related committee hearings in the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses. It also provides a list of executive orders and presidential directives pertaining to information and computer security.
- The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce: Background and Congressional Oversight Issues for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security
- This report examines congressional oversight of two strategies undertaken by Congress and the executive branch to strengthen the federal cybersecurity workforce: initiatives to define and identify the federal cybersecurity workforce, and hiring and pay flexibilities applicable to cybersecurity positions at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
- Big Data in U.S. Agriculture
- This report discusses big data within the context of agriculture. Many observers predict that the growth of big data will bring positive benefits through enhanced production, resource efficiency, and improved adaptation to climate change. While lauded for its potentially revolutionary applications, big data is not without issues. From a policy perspective, issues related to big data involve nearly every stage of its existence, including its collection (how it is captured), management (how it is stored and managed), and use (how it is analyzed and used). It is still unclear how big data will progress within agriculture due to technical and policy challenges, such as privacy and security, for producers and policymakers. As Congress follows the issue, a number of questions may arise, including a principal one--what is the federal role?
- Using Data to Improve Defense Acquisitions: Background, Analysis, and Questions for Congress
- This report examines (1) the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD) effectively uses data to inform decisionmaking, (2) some of the critical elements needed for DOD to use data more effectively, (3) recent efforts to improve DOD's use of data, and (4) potential questions for Congress. This report focuses primarily (but not exclusively) on defense acquisitions as a case study.
- Data Security and Breach Notification Legislation: Selected Legal Issues
- This report describes the common elements of several data security and breach notification bills that have been introduced in the 114th Congress, which broadly would impose security and notification requirements on businesses regardless of industry sector. It also discusses state laws that may apply in the event of a data breach and addresses two legal issues that may arise in consideration of new legislation about data security and breach notification.
- Internet Governance and the Domain Name System: Issues for Congress
- This report provides a definition regarding Internet governance and how the Internet is currently governed, and discusses the role of United States government and future model of Internet governance.
- Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents
- This report provides links to cybersecurity-related committee hearings in the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses. It also provides a list of executive orders and presidential directives pertaining to information and computer security.
- Internet Governance and the Domain Name System: Issues for Congress
- This report provides a definition regarding Internet governance and how the Internet is currently governed. The report discusses the role of United States government and future model of Internet governance.
- The EU-U.S. Safe Harbor Agreement on Personal Data Privacy: In Brief
- This report discusses a recent judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that invalidates the Safe Harbor Agreement between the United States and the 28-member European Union (EU). Safe Harbor is a 15-year-old accord, under which personal data could legally be transferred between EU member countries and the United States.
- U.S.-China Cyber Agreement
- During the state visit on September 24-25, 2015, President Xi Jinping of China and President Barack Obama reached a Cyber Agreement. This report briefly discusses that agreement.
- The Internet of Things: Frequently Asked Questions
- This report was developed to assist Congress in responding to some commonly asked questions about the Internet of Things (IoT), a complex, often poorly understood phenomenon.
- The Internet Tax Freedom Act: In Brief
- This report discusses the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA; P.L. 105-277), which enacted in 1998, implemented a three-year moratorium preventing state and local governments from taxing Internet access, or imposing multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
- Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): Commercial Outlook for a New Industry
- This report discusses unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)--commonly referred to as drones-- which have become a staple of U.S. military reconnaissance and weapons delivery in overseas war zones such as Afghanistan. Now some new technologies and pending federal regulations are enabling the manufacture and use of UAS in domestic commerce, giving rise to a growing commercial UAS industry.
- Encryption and Evolving Technology: Implications for U.S. Law Enforcement Investigations
- This report provides an overview of the perennial issue involving technology outpacing law enforcement and discusses how policy makers and law enforcement officials have dealt with this issue in the past. It discusses the current debate surrounding smartphone data encryption and how this may impact U.S. law enforcement operations. The report also discusses existing law enforcement capabilities, the debate over whether law enforcement is "going dark" because of rapid technological advances, and resulting issues that policy makers may consider.
- Policy Implications of the Internet of Things
- This report briefly discusses the Internet of Things (IoT), which is an umbrella term that many policymakers use to refer to the technologies and network structures that interconnect objects, humans, and animals to collect and analyze data and manage processes.
- Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents
- This report provides links to cybersecurity committee hearings and legislation from the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses, as well as a list of executive orders and presidential directives pertaining to information and computer security. Summaries of activities and findings are included as a series of tables.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of House and Senate Bills in the 114th Congress
- This report consists of an overview of the three bills (Protecting Cyber Networks Act, National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015, Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015), other legislative proposals, and an executive order on sharing information sharing, along with selected associated issues. followed by a side-by-side analysis of NCPAA, PCNA, and CISA.
- The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Budget: Fact Sheet
- This report summarizes the goals and focus of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The AHRQ is a piece of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which is meant to improve the quality of health care, enhance the delivery of health care, and increase the amount of access people have to health services. Moreover, the report covers how the AHRQ is financed and debates how it will continue to be so.
- Background and Issues for Congressional Oversight of ARRA Broadband Awards
- This report discusses background and issues for congressional oversight of ARRA Broadband Awards.
- The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities
- This report discusses the federal government's role in the country's information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) activities. Support of IT R&D began because the government had an important interest in creating computers and software that would be capable of addressing the problems and issues the government needed to solve and study.
- Expansion of WTO Information Technology Agreement Targets December Conclusion
- This report discusses the World Trade Organization (WTO) expansion and agreement to expand the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and eliminate tariffs on 201 goods not included in the original 1996 ITA.
- OPM Data Breach: Personnel Security Background Investigation Data
- This report provides information on the types of data that may be collected in a typical personnel security background investigation. In a July 9, 2015, news release on the cyber-intrusions of its systems, OPM "concluded with high confidence that sensitive information, including the Social Security Numbers (SSNs) of 21.5 million individuals, was stolen from the background investigation databases." This report is not an official statement of the data that was compromised in the OPM breach.
- Cyber Intrusion into U.S. Office of Personnel Management: In Brief
- This report provides an overview of the current understanding of the recent U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) breaches, which may have compromised personal information of former and current federal employees. It also discusses issues and questions raised about the source of the breaches, possible uses of the information exfiltrated, potential national security ramifications, and implications for the cybersecurity of federal information systems.
- Cybersecurity: Legislation, Hearings, and Executive Branch Documents
- This report provides links to cybersecurity-related committee hearings in the 112th and 113th Congresses. It also provides a list of executive orders and presidential directives pertaining to information and computer security.
- Dark Web
- This report illuminates information on the various layers of the Internet, with a particular focus on the Dark Web. It discusses both legitimate and illicit uses of the Dark Web, including how the government may rely upon it. Throughout, the report raises issues that policy makers may consider as they explore means to curb malicious activity online.
- Internet Governance and the Domain Name System: Issues for Congress
- This report provides a definition regarding Internet governance and how the Internet is currently governed. The report discusses the role of United States government and future model of Internet governance.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 and H.R. 1731 as Passed by the House
- This report compares provisions in two bills in the House of Representatives that address information sharing and related activities in cybersecurity. Both bills focus on information sharing among private entities and between them and the federal government.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of Legislative Proposals in the 114th Congress
- This report compares two House bills and one Senate bill that address information sharing and related activities in cybersecurity. The report consists of an overview of those and other legislative proposals on information sharing, along with selected associated issues, followed by a side-by-side analysis of the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015 (NCPAA), the Protecting Cyber Networks Act (PCNA), and the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA).
- Protecting Civil Aviation from Cyberattacks
- This report briefly discusses cyber-security issues in civil aviation. unclear. A recent probe into alleged hacking incidents unfolded just weeks after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) alerted airlines to be on the lookout for passengers trying to tap into aircraft electronics and for evidence of tampering or network intrusions.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of Legislative Proposals in the 114th Congress
- This report compares two House bills and one Senate bill that address information sharing and related activities in cybersecurity. It also discusses some of the issues that those and other bills address.
- The Internet Tax Freedom Act: In Brief
- This report discusses the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA; P.L. 105-277), which enacted in 1998, implemented a three-year moratorium preventing state and local governments from taxing Internet access, or imposing multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 and H.R. 1731 as Passed by the House
- This report compares provisions in two bills in the House of Representatives that address information sharing and related activities in cybersecurity.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 and H.R. 1731 as Passed by the House
- This report compares provisions in two bills in the House of Representatives that address information sharing and related activities in cybersecurity. This report consists of an overview of those and other legislative proposals on information sharing, along with selected associated issues, followed by a side-by-side analysis of the two House bills as passed.
- Legislation to Facilitate Cybersecurity Information Sharing: Economic Analysis
- This report analyzes the sharing of cyberattack information by government with private companies, by private companies with the government, and among private companies. Sharing information with consumers is mentioned but is not the central focus of this report.
- Alternative Fuel and Advanced Vehicle Technology Incentives: A Summary of Federal Programs
- This report describes incentives and programs aimed at deploying alternative fuel and engines, such as tax deductions, federal grants for upgrading old cars, and mandates for biofuel use. The report lists incentives and programs by agency.
- ARPA-E and the FY2016 Budget Request
- This report is about ARPA-E and the budget requests for the Fiscal year 2016.
- Tracking Federal Funds: USAspending.gov and Other Data Sources
- This report discusses USAspending.gov, which collects data on grants, loans, insurance, assistance, and contracts, and it presents various searching and downloading options to Congress and the public.
- Genomic Data and Privacy: Background and Relevant Law
- This report discusses considerations in the context of each of the relevant laws and regulations.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 and H.R. 1731 as Passed by the House
- This report compares provisions in two bills in the House of Representatives that address information sharing and related activities in cybersecurity.
- Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources, by Topic
- This report provides references to analytical reports on cybersecurity from CRS, other government agencies, trade associations, and interest groups. The reports and related websites are grouped under a variety of cybersecurity topics.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 and H.R. 1731
- This report compares provisions in two bills in the House of Representatives that address information sharing and related activities in cybersecurity.
- The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Background, Funding, and Activities
- This report discusses the federal government's role in the country's information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) activities. The government's support of IT R&D began because it had an important interest in creating computers and software that would be capable of addressing the problems and issues the government needed to solve and study.
- Cybersecurity
- This report details the information related to cybersecurity, its factors, legislative issues, and long-term challenges.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Legal Challenges and Solutions
- While considerable debate exists with regard to the best strategies for protecting America’s various cyber-systems and promoting cybersecurity, one point of general agreement amongst cyber-analysts is the perceived need for enhanced and timely exchange of cyber-threat intelligence both within the private sector and between the private sector and the government. This report examines the various legal issues that arise with respect to the sharing of cybersecurity intelligence, with a special focus on two distinct concepts: (1) sharing of cyberinformation within the government’s possession and (2) sharing of cyber-information within the possession of the private sector.