Bond, McCaskill sponsor cybersecurity laws
Each of Missouri's senators have teamed up with one of Utah's senators to propose separate cybersecurity bills within hours of each other.
On Thursday, the office of Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., announced that he and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, will sponsor a bill aimed at curbing cyber attacks. The National Cyber Infrastructure Protection Act of 2010 would give Congress some regulatory power over the Internet and would designate one senate-confirmed person to coordinate national cybersecurity.
It would also create an entity known as the Cyber Defense Alliance, an organization for private companies and the government to share information on cyber threats. Bond, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, characterized the efforts as part of the War on Terror, referring in a press release to the Christmas Day airline bomber.
“Our enemies won’t wait for us to do our homework, solve our turf battles, or modernize our laws before using our networks as a deadly weapon; in fact, the attacks have already started," Bond said. "We don’t have another day to waste, and our bill is the best solution to address this threat.”
Friday, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., introduced legislation aimed at curbing leaks of government information, co-sponsored by Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah. The Secure Federal File Sharing Act would forbid government workers and contractors from download file-sharing software for music and files.
McCaskill said in a statement that advances in information technology created the need for the new law.
“In this age of information technology, it’s critical that the federal government take the next step in ensuring that their data is fully protected,” McCaskill said. “It’s important that our government and our citizens’ confidential information is no longer vulnerable to exposure from the use of insecure peer-to-peer networks.”