Ahead of the Thursday, June 24, 2010 mark-up of this critical cybersecurity bill, Senators Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Susan Collins, R-Me., its Ranking Member, have issued the following fact sheet describing the intent and impact of their bipartisan legislation. This document also addresses some misconceptions about the bill:
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* MYTH #3:
S. 3480 would give the President the authority to conduct electronic surveillance and monitor private networks.
* REALITY:
This allegation is false. The bill creates no new authority to conduct electronic surveillance. It gives the government no new authority to compel the disclosure of private information. It does not alter the limitations of the Wiretap Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
S. 3480 would establish a public/private partnership to secure cyberspace. It would encourage the private sector to voluntarily provide information about threats and vulnerabilities to our nation’s information technology infrastructure.
Although owners/operators of covered critical infrastructure would be required to report on cyber attacks on their networks, the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications (NCCC) would not have the authority to compel this disclosure.
Information provided to the NCCC by the private sector would be protected from unauthorized disclosure.
This system would rely on voluntary sharing of threat and vulnerability data and would help create a collaborative environment between the NCCC and the private sector.
Read more of the “Fact Sheet” on ISRIA.