Over the past several years, cybersecurity has become an increasingly pressing issue for the government, the private sector, and individuals. The cyber threats America faces include potential disruptions and failure of the nation’s electric grid, utility plants, and telecommunications and financial networks; the theft of national security secrets and cyber corporate espionage; as well as hacking, data breaches, and identity theft.
Key cybersecurity issues necessary to confront these risks include facilitating cyber threat information sharing; requiring baseline cybersecurity practices for critical infrastructure; creating a federal standard for data breach notifications; investing in cybersecurity research and development, education, and workforce training; and updating cyber crime statutes.
CCIA’s View:
CCIA supports efforts to facilitate and streamline information sharing on cyber threats between the private sector and the federal government. Cyber crime laws should be updated to address today’s threats, but must not inadvertently criminalize trivial user behavior. Furthermore, increased research and development, education, and workforce training will produce new tools to address cyber threats and skilled professionals trained to use them. Finally, policymakers should encourage the deployment of strong, ubiquitous encryption, which is increasingly vital for national security, a vibrant and competitive digital economy, and the physical and online safety of individuals.