Cybersecurity is focus of new bills

House lawmakers have returned from the August recess resolved to fight the nation’s cyber adversaries with a flurry of new legislative proposals aiming to boost security of public and private networks and infrastructure. Key House members are readying a series of bills that address a variety of issues — from toughening law enforcement of cybercrimes to giving the Department of Homeland Security oversight of federal IT and critical infrastructure security to lessening liability for private companies that adopt cybersecurity best practices.

“The House is coming at the problem with a series of small steps,” said Alan Paller, director of cybersecurity research at the SANS Institute, a nonprofit research and education organization. “This reflects that a lot of members on the Hill see this as an issue that’s important to constituents.” By contrast, the Senate is continuing to pursue a comprehensive cybersecurity bill with several committees working to hammer out one piece of legislation. The House has chosen a different approach favoring piecemeal legislation to respond to the growing rash of cyberattacks against private companies — from Google to Sony to Epsilon — and government.