The House and Senate approved a bill that will support the adoption of “.gov” domains across to state, local, and tribal governments, as part of the provisions in the $1.4 trillion bill to fund the Federal government.
The DOTGOV Online Trust in Government Act will move the management of “.gov” domains from the General Services Administration (GSA) to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and would require CISA to create an outreach strategy to state and local organizations. The aim of the bill is to improve the security of SLG domains by making it more difficult for cybercriminals to conduct phishing attacks on citizens.
The bipartisan bill was initially introduced in October 2019 and got through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, but never got a vote from the full Senate.
The provision was backed by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who praised its inclusion in the broader Federal funding bill.
“I am proud that several of my provisions that will make our nation safer and improve government operations were included in this bipartisan bill,” he said. “Cyber threats, the pandemic and other critical issues must be tackled head on and without delay.”
The broader funding bill – provision included – has not yet been signed by President Trump due to negotiations over the attached COVID relief stimulus bill, but the provision is unlikely to be removed.
