WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME), a senior member of the Committee, today released the latest draft of comprehensive, bipartisan cybersecurity legislation to address our nation’s vulnerability to cyber crime, global cyber espionage, and cyber attacks.

The legislation is the culmination of a year’s worth of consultation and input from cybersecurity experts in the private sector, government and civil liberties community. The bill is scheduled to be marked-up on March 24, 2010.

“The networks that American families and businesses rely on for basic day-to-day activities are being hacked and attacked every day. At this very moment, sophisticated cyber enemies are trying to steal our identities, our money, our business innovations, and our national security secrets,” said Chairman Rockefeller. “This 21st century threat calls for a robust 21st century response from our government, our private sector and our citizens. Private companies and the government must work together to protect our nation, our networks and our way of life from the growing cyber threat.”

“The Rockefeller-Snowe initiative seeks to bring new high-level governmental attention to developing a fully integrated, thoroughly coordinated public-private partnership,” said Senator Snowe. “It is imperative that the public and private sectors marshal our collective forces in a collaborative and complementary manner to confront this urgent threat.”

BACKGROUND: The Rockefeller-Snowe Cybersecurity Act provides a framework for engagement and collaboration between the private sector and government on cybersecurity, while protecting civil liberties, proprietary rights, and confidential and classified information. The bill will:

• Significantly raise the priority of cybersecurity throughout the federal government and streamline cybersecurity-related government functions, authorities and laws.
• Protect civil liberties, intellectual property and business proprietary information.
• Promote cybersecurity public awareness, education, and research and development.
• Foster market-driven cybersecurity innovation and creativity to develop long-term technology solutions and train the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.