Senate Bill to Establish Cybersecurity Standards for Federal Workplace Collaboration Tools

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has introduced draft legislation that would set new mandatory cybersecurity standards for online collaboration tools used across the federal government.

The Secure and Interoperable Government Collaboration Technology Act would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the General Services Administration to establish interoperable standards for collaboration platforms to ensure that they use end-to-end encryption and other technologies to prevent foreign surveillance on government communications.

“My bill will secure the U.S. government’s communications from foreign hackers, while protecting taxpayer wallets. Vendor lock-in, bundling, and other anticompetitive practices result in the government spending vast sums of money on insecure software,” said Wyden.

The bill would also task the Department of Homeland Security with conducting cybersecurity reviews of collaboration tools acquired by government agencies.

If enacted, the legislation would create a working group comprising representatives from GSA and the Office of Management and Budget to review federal workplace collaboration platforms and suggest improvements to the new standards.