Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) are drafting cybersecurity legislation that would establish a permanent national security czar reporting directly to the White House, according to a recent announcement from Senator Nelson and other reports. The proposed legislation would also
- require intelligence and Homeland Security officials to perform vulnerability assessments;
- create a clearinghouse for information sharing between the government and private sector; and
- fund scholarships for those interested in cybersecurity.
The proposed legislation follows on the heels of three incidents where computers in Senator Nelson’s office were hacked . The current draft legislation contains provisions similar to those recommended by the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, which released a report in December 2008.
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