News

Cybersecurity bill stalls in Senate

A bill aimed at helping government agencies and private businesses share information regarding cyberthreats has stalled in Congress. According to U.S. News & World Report, the Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) will not be voted upon by the Senate. The intent of the bill's drafters was to remove barriers that prevented private entities and government bodies from sharing critical information that could prevent a penetrating data breach. However, many politicians have expressed concern over CISPA's potential to invade the privacy of America citizens.

The House of Representatives passed the bill earlier with a 288 - 127 vote, but almost immediately began looking at an uphill battle. Following the passage of CISPA, the Obama administration announced it would explore options for vetoing the bill if it made its way through the Senate and landed on the president's desk, ZDNet reported.

The combination of widespread privacy concerns, a lack of executive support and pressure from privacy advocacy groups has led to the Senate decision to most likely shelve the controversial bill. Several members of the Senate agreed that passing cybersecurity legislation was vital to protecting the nation's infrastructure and industry, but the privacy concerns presented by CISPA were too great to ignore. With the bill all but dead, members of Congress will turn their attention to drafting new legislation that enhances the nation's cybersecurity efforts while establishing safeguards to protect citizens' privacy.

"Staff and senators are divvying up the issues and the key provisions everyone agrees would need to be handled if we're going to strengthen cybersecurity," a representative of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation told U.S. News & World Report. "They'll be drafting separate bills."

As members of Congress grapple with cybersecurity legislation and its implications on privacy, private enterprises are left to find their own data security answers. One of the critical components of a well maintained cyberdefense is a strong adherence to encryption techniques. Using encryption tools, businesses can protect their valuable data both at rest and while in transit from the reach of cybercriminals.

The U.S. government has yet to offer a satisfying response to the threat of cybercrime. Protect sensitive data with an SSL certificate today.

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