Supporting Efforts to Bolster America’s Cybersecurity

Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Senator Olympia J. Snowe, a senior member of the Commerce Committee, released the following statement on the importance of passing comprehensive cybersecurity legislation and applauded Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) for introducing legislation that aims to achieve this goal.

Chairman Rockefeller said:

Cybersecurity is one of the biggest national security issues this country faces and the threat is growing every day. Today’s outdated cybersecurity policies are not up to the task of protecting our nation and our economy and we must act now. We cannot wait for a crisis and then impose reactive solutions. We will do far better by acting proactively now, and by acting together. I commend Senators Lieberman and Collins for proposing solutions to this critical national security challenge and I look forward to working with them to pass comprehensive legislation to bolster our cyber defenses.

Senator Snowe said:

The broad overlap between this measure and the Rockefeller-Snowe initiative further underscores the bipartisan consensus within the Congress to confront this urgent threat. Our failure to implement effective policies and procedures to prevent unauthorized intrusion has proven extremely consequential, and I stand ready to work with my colleagues in the Senate to swiftly enact a 21st century national security policy that will protect and preserve American cyberspace.

THE ROCKEFELLER-SNOWE CYBERSECURITY ACT
Earlier this year, Chairman Rockefeller and Senator Snowe introduced the Rockefeller-Snowe Cybersecurity Act. The bill was favorably reported out of the Commerce Committee on March 24, 2010. The Rockefeller-Snowe Cybersecurity Act’s central guiding principle is to modernize the government-private sector relationship on cybersecurity. A vast majority of America’s networks are owned and operated by the private sector. The Rockefeller-Snowe Cybersecurity Act provides a framework for proactive engagement, collaboration and teamwork between the government and the private sector on cybersecurity, addressing current reactive, ad hoc responses by the government to cyber attacks.

The Rockefeller-Snowe Cybersecurity Act received positive reviews from key stakeholders on this important issue.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE ROCKEFELLER-SNOWE CYBERSECURITY ACT WOULD:

• Significantly raise the priority of cybersecurity throughout the federal government and streamline cybersecurity-related government functions, authorities and laws.
• Protect civil liberties, intellectual property and business proprietary information.
• Promote cybersecurity public awareness, education, and research and development.
• Foster market-driven cybersecurity innovation and creativity to develop long-term technology solutions and train the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.