Shutdown derails implementation of cybersecurity order

Due to the government shutdown, the Commerce Department will miss its deadline to release a draft framework of voluntary cybersecurity rules.

President Barack Obama instructed the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to release the draft guidelines by Oct. 10 as part of an Executive Order he signed in February 2013. "The continued closure of the government has impacted our ability to conduct the final clearance process on the Cybersecurity Framework," James Hock, a Commerce Department spokesman, said. "We will reevaluate the release date when government operations are fully restored." The guidelines are intended to help operators of critical infrastructure, such as power plants and banks, better protect their systems from hackers.