Senate Drafting Cybersecurity Law – Seeks To Appoint National “Cybersecurity Czar”

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.

Links:

• The post on Senator Nelson’s website can be found here.
• The March 23, 2009 CNET News article, "A bill to shift cybersecurity to the White House" can be found here.
• The December 2008 report from the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency is available here.