A defense policy bill the Senate approved Tuesday contains a provision that would provide the Defense Department a $200 million budget to assess the susceptibility of every Internet-connected weapons system to cyber attacks, Nextgov reported Wednesday.
Aliya Sternstein writes the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act would require Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to determine which weapons programs need to undergo cyber vulnerability screening.
The bill requires DoD to create a list of weapons systems and project the cost of cyber screening operations within six months of the legislation’s enactment, Sternstein reports.
Nextgov said the Pentagon must submit a full review of the military weapons systems to Congress by 2019 and report to lawmakers on its progress on a quarterly basis under the legislation.
