A Cyberspace Solarium Commission report recommends the creation of new cybersecurity-focused independent committees in Congress and a Senate-confirmed national cyber director at the White House, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The commission concluded that the U.S. government needs to implement structural reforms to address cyber threats that jeopardize economic and national security, according to the report obtained by the publication.

“The U.S. is currently not designed to act with the speed and agility necessary to defend the country in cyberspace,” the report noted. “Our country has lost hundreds of billions of dollars to nation-state-sponsored intellectual property theft using cyber espionage.”

The 182-page report suggested a “layered cyber deterrence” strategy to reduce the impact of cyber attacks. The strategy includes shaping responsible behavior in cyber space; denying benefits to adversaries; and imposing costs on threat actors who target the U.S. in cyber space.

“This is the 9/11 Commission report without 9/11,” said Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who co-chaired the commission with Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.). “We understand that this is a tall order.”

The commission’s report is scheduled for release Wednesday, March 11.

The Department of Energy plans to invest $40 million in data science projects including those that leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning. DOE said Monday that it seeks efforts that would address data management issues faced by the department's science facilities.

“Major scientific facilities at our DOE national laboratories are generating vast and growing amounts of data for researchers every day,” said Chris Fall, director of the department’s Office of Science.

He added that both AI and ML hold the potential to support data management and operations taking place at national laboratories. DOE's data-related challenges include complex data extraction, real-time operations management and the use of virtual laboratory environments.

DOE program offices for nuclear physics, high-energy physics and basic energy science manage facilities that may benefit from the effort. Interested parties may submit proposals through May 1. DOE will use $13M to fund projects under the effort's fiscal year 2020 segment.

The White House's National Space Council is looking to pursue new policy on intellectual property across the U.S. space industry, Space News reported Monday. The potential directive would ask space companies to implement cybersecurity standards designed to protect IP data.

Mir Sadat, most recently a director with the National Security Council, said at the Satellite 2020 symposium that the White House has been receiving urges to boost awareness on space-related cyber threats. These threats include satellite network hackers and industrial espionage.

The government still has no plan to strictly impose these cybersecurity standards, but seeks to have industry figure out what to do, Sadat noted.