What You Need To Know About The Senate Cybersecurity Bill

The Senate is currently debating a key piece of cybersecurity legislation which could change the way American tech firms operate.

It is impossible to understate the need for the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2012--the United States, in the midst of a historic surge in online crime and espionage, has decided to act to reduce the problem. However, critics argue that the Cybersecurity Act is wasteful and threatens privacy. As currently written, the Cybersecurity Act could lead to massively increased costs for American tech and Internet firms. The Cybersecurity Act dramatically increases the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) role in combating cybercrime. Responsibility for commercial and civilian online security would be explicitly placed under DHS's supervision; responsibility currently lies with a host of federal, state, and local law enforcement and intelligence agencies. A new National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications (NCCC) would be established within DHS, and would be headed up by a Senate-confirmed presidential appointee. Information sharing between government agencies would be streamlined. And the DHS will be responsible for establishing federally mandated “cybersecurity performance requirements” for critical Internet infrastructure.