President Barack Obama today expressed his support for the revised cybersecurity legislation proposed Thursday, in an opinion piece that is on the White House website and in the Wall Street Journal.
He urged the Senate to pass the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, and for Congress to put forward similar legislation, so that it could quickly be signed into law. This revised version of the law does not grant any new authority for the Department of Homeland Security to set and enforce standards.
The revised bill is co-sponsored by Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn.; Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Maine; Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Ca.; and Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del.
“This approach stays true to our values as a society that cherishes free enterprise and the rights of the individual,” the President wrote. “Cybersecurity standards would be developed in partnership between government and industry. … Moreover, our approach protects the privacy and civil liberties of the American people. Indeed, I will veto any bill that lacks strong privacy and civil-liberties protections.”
Related links:
The White House – Op-ed by President Obama: Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously
Wall Street Journal – Opinion: Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously
GovTrack.us – S. 2105: Cybersecurity Act of 2012
Official White House photo by Pete Souza
