After a string of highly publicized attacks on energy pipelines in different areas of the country, several Congressmen addressed a letter to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month, asking that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) respond to several questions concerning the ability and intent of the DOJ to investigate and prosecute criminal activity against energy infrastructure at the federal level. The letter also asks for DOJ clarification on whether attacks against the nation’s energy infrastructure fall within the DOJ’s understanding of 18 U.S.C. § 2331(5), which defines “domestic terrorism” to include activities that “involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State” and that “appear to be intended to . . . influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.”
Continue Reading Legislators Request Action on Pipeline Infrastructure Attacks, and DOJ Responds
Infrastructure Security
Senate Committee Approves Cybersecurity Bill As Infrastructure Security Concerns Grow
By Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP on
The Senate Intelligence Committee recently approved the “Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act”, which would facilitate the sharing of information about cybersecurity threats or countermeasures by among private entities and with the federal government. If information is shared in accordance with certain requirements (such as the use of technical controls to protect shared information), the bill provides broad protections for entities sharing information for cybersecurity purposes, including immunity against any legal action related to the monitoring, sharing, or receipt of information done in accordance with the Act.
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Continue Reading Senate Committee Approves Cybersecurity Bill As Infrastructure Security Concerns Grow
Comment Periods Extended on NPMS Information Collection and PHMSA Class Location Inquiry
PHMSA published an Information Collection Renewal Notice in June regarding the renewal of existing data that the Agency collects through the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS).
Continue Reading Comment Periods Extended on NPMS Information Collection and PHMSA Class Location Inquiry