Scenario:

You work as a legislative research aide for U.S. House of Representative member Tito Canduit in the 26th District (a fake District number) of Virginia, who faces a contested reelection bid in the fall of 2022. As he prepares for his reelection bid (it’s never too early) Rep. Canduit wants to show voters/constituents his commitment to enacting proposed legislation (laws) or highlighting existing legislation that protects the American people from cybersecurity threats from here or abroad (Remember, this is the cyber world, and the U.S. faces all sorts of threats). To do this Rep. Canduit plans to roll out a series of letters to constituents about proposed or existing laws designed to strengthen cybersecurity in the U.S. His hope is that voters will better understand cybersecurity threats and appreciate what has been or is being done about it through the passage of good legislation. Your job is to write a background research memo for him after you have identified one such proposed or existing cybersecurity law. Rep. Canduit (not you) will later use your memo to draft a letter to his constituents (you don’t write his letter – you send him a research memo). See below for more instructions about your memo to him.

In other words, Rep. Canduit will review the research and analysis in your memo to him (but yes, I will read it). Rep. Canduit will later use your memo to help him later compose his first letter to voters.

There are many fairly recently passed or proposed U.S. laws (e.g. the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act; the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016; IOT Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017; or check out https://www.csoonline.com/article/3512043/2020-outlook-for-cybersecurity-legislation.htmlLinks to an external site.). There are other very accessible ways to find such legislation too in search engines. 

Instructions:

1. In your research, review existing (within past 6 years) and proposed U.S. or individual state (that might be a good model for federal legislation) cybersecurity laws and then identify one such law that you think is important. 

2. Then write a memo. In doing so:

     a. Cite it (preferably link it for me) and be clear about the law itself — is it under consideration or has it been enacted into law? 

     b. Summarize the law as clearly as possible.  

     c. Describe the problem the law is trying to fix. Give some background, context and/or history. Perhaps you can wrap in current events.

     d. Does the law fix the problem? Can the law be improved, and if so, how?

     e. Any other observations? Remember, Rep. Canduit is your boss, he needs your help, and he’s not a cybersecurity expert. Use your imagination. For example, is there any provision(s) in the law that voters will relate to and might be emphasized in Rep. Canduit’s letter?

3. Your memo to Representative Canduit must be a minimum of 600 words. .

4. When writing your memo, use multiple credible sources, including credible Web resources, your textbook and other resources more fully described below. List your sources at the end of the memo.