Cybersecurity bill poised for Senate consideration
Source: washington post
The Senate is poised to take up comprehensive cybersecurity legislation as soon as this week, after years of discussion among lawmakers and a compromise that critics allege undercuts the effort to prevent a crippling cyberattack against the nation.
Sponsors made key concessions in revising the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 in a bid to overcome GOP and industry opposition, in particular dropping a measure that would require critical private sector companies to adopt security standards in favor of language that makes meeting those standards voluntary.
President Obama, whose administration once considered such a mandate essential, last week urged passage of the legislation, stating in an opinion piece that “the cyber threat to our nation is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face.”
“On balance, we think that voluntary standards will still enable us to make meaningful improvements in cybersecurity,” the White House’s cybersecurity coordinator, Michael Daniel, said in an interview Tuesday. He conceded that the idea of mandatory standards was “legislatively almost impossible” right now, but “that’s the ultimate goal.”
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cybersecurity-bill-poised-for-senate-consideration/2012/07/24/gJQAZxpU7W_story.html
