6 U.S.C. § 677b

Current through P.L. 118-65 (published on www.congress.gov on 06/17/2024)

Section 677b - Declaration

(a) In general

(1) Declaration

The Secretary, in consultation with the National Cyber Director, may make a declaration of a significant incident in accordance with this section for the purpose of enabling the activities described in this part if the Secretary determines that-

(A) a specific significant incident-

(i) has occurred; or

(ii) is likely to occur imminently; and

(B) otherwise available resources, other than the Fund, are likely insufficient to respond effectively to, or to mitigate effectively, the specific significant incident described in subparagraph (A).

(2) Prohibition on delegation

The Secretary may not delegate the authority provided to the Secretary under paragraph (1).

(b) Asset response activities

Upon a declaration, the Director shall coordinate-

(1) the asset response activities of each Federal agency in response to the specific significant incident associated with the declaration; and

(2) with appropriate entities, which may include-

(A) public and private entities and State and local governments with respect to the asset response activities of those entities and governments; and

(B) Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies with respect to investigations and threat response activities of those law enforcement agencies; and

(3) Federal, State, local, and Tribal emergency management and response agencies.

(c) Duration

Subject to subsection (d), a declaration shall terminate upon the earlier of-

(1) a determination by the Secretary that the declaration is no longer necessary; or

(2) the expiration of the 120-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary makes the declaration.

(d) Renewal

The Secretary, without delegation, may renew a declaration as necessary.

(e) Publication

(1) In general

Not later than 72 hours after a declaration or a renewal, the Secretary shall publish the declaration or renewal in the Federal Register.

(2) Prohibition

A declaration or renewal published under paragraph (1) may not include the name of any affected individual or private company.

(f) Advance actions

(1) In general

The Secretary-

(A) shall assess the resources available to respond to a potential declaration; and

(B) may take actions before and while a declaration is in effect to arrange or procure additional resources for asset response activities or technical assistance the Secretary determines necessary, which may include entering into standby contracts with private entities for cybersecurity services or incident responders in the event of a declaration.

(2) Expenditure of funds

Any expenditure from the Fund for the purpose of paragraph (1)(B) shall be made from amounts available in the Fund, and amounts available in the Fund shall be in addition to any other appropriations available to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for such purpose.

6 U.S.C. § 677b

Pub. L. 107-296, title XXII, §2233, as added Pub. L. 117-58, div. G, title VI, §70602(a), Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1268.

State: The term "State" means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the United States.
Agency: the term "Agency" means the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
Secretary: the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Homeland Security;
emergency management: the term "emergency management" means the governmental function that coordinates and integrates all activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, or mitigate against threatened or actual natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters;