Senate Commerce Committee postpones cybersecurity hearing

The Senate Commerce Committee has postponed indefinitely a major hearing on cybersecurity.

The debate around cybersecurity has shown signs of heating up after Senate Democrats indicated they have settled last year's stalemate over which committee will have jurisdiction over cybersecurity. Both the Commerce and Homeland Security Committees have lobbied for oversight authority. The White House has promised to unveil its legislative recommendations for cybersecurity in the near future, which will likely include some form of data breach notification. Senate leadership has indicated a preference for putting the Department of Homeland Security in charge of protecting the government's civilian networks, but House Republicans have shown a preference for allowing the military and intelligence agencies to take the lead on cyber defense issues. Republicans also appear unlikely to support any legislation that adds more to the plate of DHS.