Defenseless against cyberattacks

[Commentary] In the final weeks before Congress left for its August break, Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), took a gamble. They watered down their own cybersecurity legislation in hopes of winning passage. But last week on the Senate floor, their compromise died.

The sponsors could muster only 52 votes, short of the 60 needed. Sens Lieberman and Collins went a long way. Their original legislation would have set mandatory cybersecurity standards for companies that run critical infrastructure, such as electricity, water, nuclear, communications and financial networks. Ripping the heart out of their bill, they made the standards voluntary but still found no takers. The influential U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposed it, saying the legislation took an “adversarial” approach to the private sector. The group has endorsed other bills with less rigorous requirements. This was a moment when the business lobby put its head in the sand. The threat posed to the private sector in cyberspace cannot be wished away — it is large and growing. Most companies realize this from their own experience. They are being battered by cyber-exploitations and theft, losing customer records and intellectual property. Instead of torpedoing legislation, they ought to be leading the way, pressing Congress to act.