October 2012

The looming threat of sequestration could short-circuit one of the few cybersecurity agreements between lawmakers and the White House: the need for a bigger budget to protect government and private computer systems.

At stake are hundreds of millions of dollars in cyberaid, the loss of which could jeopardize efforts to detect digital spies, fight off foreign hackers, research new technologies and hire smart cybersecurity experts — the sort of commitments made in the Obama administration’s budget, and echoed by congressional leaders all year. There’s no single entity in the federal government that handles cybersecurity: Responsibilities for protecting federal networks, staving off foreign cyberattacks and researching new technologies are spread across multiple departments and programs. Many of those initiatives would be hit hard by deep cuts beginning in 2013 unless Congress pushes back the target date for its legally mandated cuts, exempts some categories of spending or does away entirely with its fallback, deficit-reduction plans.

Many business leaders are far too optimistic about their companies’ ability to deal with security issues and cyberattacks, warns a report published by PwC, the professional services firm. PwC’s 2013 Global State of Information Security Survey reveals that executives are confident that they’re winning the high-stakes game of information security and believe their companies are leaders in information security. But PwC says that there is a marked discrepancy between this optimism and reality. Rather it warns that the rise in global security incidents, diminished budgets and degrading security programs have left organizations to deal with security risks that are neither well understood nor consistently addressed.

Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) signed legislation extending the state's $100 million tax-credit fund for two more years. The measure allows California producers a 20 percent or 25 percent credit against income and sales and use taxes and is designed to help stem the production exodus that has plagued the state in recent years.

"The state of California took a big step forward today, thanks to Governor Brown and the legislature,” said Christopher Dodd, chairman and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America. “The two-year extension of the state’s production tax credit will keep California competitive for tens of thousands of production-related jobs. This is an important victory for California’s economy, our national economy, and the hardworking men and women who comprise the film and television industry.” Two nearly identical measures, AB 2026 from Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes and SB 1197 from state Sen. Ron Calderon, were sent to the governor's desk on the final day of the legislative session. With their passage, the California Film Commission can continue to allocate tax credits through and including the 2016-17 fiscal year.