Democrats: Cybersecurity legislation a priority in new Congress

A coalition of leading Senate Democrats said that enacting legislation to better protect the nation's critical computer systems from hackers will be a priority in 2013.

Senate Republicans blocked a vote on the president's preferred cybersecurity bill in 2012, warning that it would burden businesses and do little to improve security. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced a bill stating that gaps in cybersecurity "pose one of the most serious and rapidly growing threats to both the national security and the economy of the United States." The resolution is co-sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Chris Coons (D-DE).