President Barack Obama will issue an executive order Wednesday aimed at tightening the nation’s cybersecurity.
Senior administration officials, including White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel and Army Gen. Keith Alexander, head of U.S. Cyber Command, will provide details on cyber policy Wednesday morning at the Commerce Department. Officials will provide an update on cybersecurity priorities for 2013, including information sharing and reducing cyber risks, Commerce announced Tuesday.
The executive order is said to include provisions that will establish voluntary cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure sectors, such as transportation and energy, where federal regulators have authority to enforce those standards. However, the order could not provide liability protections for companies that follow those standards but are attacked.
The order is also expected to direct agencies to share cyber threat information with companies operating critical infrastructure.
Lawmakers failed last year to pass comprehensive cybersecurity legislation, but Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., plan to reintroduce cyber legislation Wednesday.
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), HR 624, would allow the government and industry to voluntarily share information about malicious attacks and viruses. Companies that share information under the bill’s provisions or protect their networks would be granted legal protections if they’re subject to a cyber attack. The bill passed the House in April.
