Federal legislation addressing cybersecurity issues within government and private industry has passed out of the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies and will reach action in the House Homeland Security Committee soon, a representative said Friday.
The bill, sponsored by California Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, and co-sponsored by ten other congressional members, aims to protect the country from potential cyber attacks and safeguard financial service systems and other infrastructure from such threats, according to a Lungren press release. Termed the "Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness of 2011," or the PrECISE Act, H.R. 3674 gives authority for cybersecuirty evaluations to the Department of Homeland Security.
"Cybersecurity is truly a team sport and this bill gives DHS needed authorities to play its part in the federal government’s cybersecurity mission and enables the private sector to play its part by giving them the information and access to technical support they need to protect critical infrastructure," Lungren said in a statement.
The bill will also allow the Department of Homeland Services to work with the private sector in identifying risk and create a private-sector National Sharing Organization that could provide assistance and share cyberthreat information with private organizations and the federal government, according to Lungren’s office. The bill will also work to protect privacy and protect from unauthorized information use, the congressman’s Communication Director Brian Kaveney said in an email.
"Those sectors that are already regulated and also fall into the definition of ‘covered critical infrastructure’ i.e. the most critical of the critical, would have their regulators review their regulations and fill any gaps with existing, recognized standards," Kaveney said. "It’s a risk-based regime designed to protect that which is most important to our country and our economy."
