Senator Robert Menendez announced he will be introducing legislation aimed at providing increased funding for cybersecurity research and development, according to a report from Reuters.
The announcement comes in the wake of several recent cybersecurity events, including a report detailing a long term systematic data stealing operation which was conducted against several unnamed energy companies, and the revelation by NASDAQ officials that network systems had been breached by hackers on multiple occasions last year.
Congress is asking regulators to investigate the events more closely and provide a report.
"Cyber-threats are not on the horizon, they are upon us. Businesses and investors must trust that their investments are secure. We cannot allow security breaches to undermine our trust in the U.S. economy," Menendez is quoted as saying by Reuters.
Another national initiative aimed at strengthening cyber defenses was announced recently by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) which will fund the Cyber Fast Track program to support the development of unconventional solutions that can be created over short intervals by low budget operations.
The Department of Homeland Security has also launched a program offering $40 million in funds for cybersecurity research and development, and is seeking proposals for projects on a broad range of information security challenges to bolster network defenses.