White House lends support to cyber legislation

The Obama administration has issued statements of administration policy on H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act, and H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act.

In both cases, the White House supported passage of the bills by the House of Representatives, adding that both needed change. It has called for amendments to rein in the scope of liability protections granted businesses.

It closed its statements on both bills with identical language spelling out a general philosophy regarding cyber security legislation:

“Information sharing is one piece of a larger suite of legislation needed to provide the private sector, the federal government and law enforcement with the necessary tools to combat cyber threats. In addition to updating information sharing statutes, the Congress should incorporate privacy and civil liberties safeguards into all aspects of cyber security and enact legislation that creates a strong and consistent notification standard for breaches of personal data, as well as legislation that gives law enforcement the tools to fight cyber crime in the digital age.”