15 U.S.C. § 7441 — Cybersecurity competitions and challenges

(a) In general: The Secretary of Commerce, the Director of the National Science Foundation, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, working with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, must: (1) support competitions and challenges under a specific federal prize-competition law or any other law, in order to (A) find, develop, and recruit talented people to work on information technology security for federal, state, local, and tribal governments and the private sector, or (B) spark new ideas in basic and applied cybersecurity research, technology, and prototypes that could help the federal government's information technology work; and (2) make sure these competitions run effectively. (b) Participation: People who can take part in these competitions include: (1) students in grades 9 through 12; (2) students working toward a bachelor's degree; (3) students working toward a graduate degree; (4) colleges, universities, and research institutions; (5) veterans; and (6) any other groups or people the three officials decide should be included. (c) Affiliation and cooperative agreements: These competitions can be run through partnership agreements with: (1) federal agencies; (2) regional, state, or school programs that train cyber professionals; (3) state, local, and tribal governments; or (4) other private-sector organizations. (d) Areas of skill: Competitions meant to find and recruit talent under (a)(1)(A) must target these skill areas: (1) ethical hacking; (2) penetration testing; (3) vulnerability assessment; (4) keeping systems running continuously; (5) building security into design; (6) cyber forensics, meaning investigating cyber incidents; (7) offensive and defensive cyber operations; and (8) any other areas the three officials think are needed for the cybersecurity mission. (e) Topics: When picking topics for competitions under (a)(1), the three officials must: (1) consult widely, both inside and outside the federal government; and (2) may set up advisory committees to help. (f) Internships: The Director of the Office of Personnel Management may help set up internships or other federal work experience for the winners of these competitions.