We’ve covered all this cyber legislation stuff before and the big news yesterday was that the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 did not gain the 60 votes needed in the Senate to bring the measure up for a vote. This creates a significant setback for those in favor of a comprehensive cybersecurity law happening anytime this year. Personally, we have mixed feelings on this situation. On the one hand … we need something to better protect our nation from cyber attacks. The quote “Perfection is the enemy of good enough” comes to mind. On the other hand, we feel that there were so many unrelated amendments (e.g., one that would decrease the effectiveness of Obamacare) or exceptions that it significantly diluted its effectiveness.
via GovInfoSecurity.com
Senate supporters of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 failed Aug. 2 to gain the 60 votes necessary to bring the measure up for a vote, a significant setback for those seeking enactment of a comprehensive cybersecurity law this year. The vote was 52 to 46.
Failure to invoke cloture isn’t quite the death knell of cybersecurity legislation this year because senators on both sides of the issue suggested that they would continue behind-the-scene talks. Still, with Congress about to begin a month-long summer recess and the presidential and Congressional election campaign intensifying, time to reach a compromise may not exist.
Shortly after the vote, the White House issued a statement blasting Senate Republicans for impeding national security despite the bill’s backing of top military officers and national security leaders [see Top Guns Lobby for Cybersecurity Act]: “The politics of obstructionism, driven by special interest groups seeking to avoid accountability, prevented Congress from passing legislation to better protect our nation from potentially catastrophic cyberattacks.”
Republicans reject that assertion, saying the bill would lead to undue government regulation of the private sector, a point made by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, despite provisions in the measure that any IT security standards created in a government-industry collaboration would not be imposed on the mostly privately owned operators of the nation’s critical IT infrastructure, such as the electric grid and financial networks. Businesses would have had the option to voluntarily adopt or reject any standards.
Continued here.
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How do you feel about the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 not passing the Senate? Post your comments below. Today’s post pic is from InFlexWeTrust.com.