The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on the Internet held back-to-back hearings on May 21 focused on “Cyber Threats and Security Solutions” and “An Examination of the Communications Supply Chain” in what was a marathon day of testimony. The first hearing consisted of two panels. The first panelist was Patrick Gallagher, undersecretary of commerce[...]

Debate unfolded this week on the House floor on the bipartisan Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), sponsored by Representatives Mike Rogers (R-Mich) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD). Representative Bob Woodall (R-GA) gave an impassioned speech on the importance of preserving consumer privacy while also advocating for the passage of CISPA as a tool[...]

This week, three cyber-security-related bills were passed by the House of Representatives. Three in particular were introduced “under suspension,” meaning that these bills are generally considered less controversial and, as such, receive less time for debate but require a two-thirds majority vote for passage. All three bills passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.[...]

Last Thursday, the House Intelligence Committee voted the “Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act” (CISPA) out of committee by a vote of 18-2. The bill is headed for a floor vote this week. In a nutshell, CISPA allows for private sector companies such as Internet service providers and telecommunications companies to share information with federal agencies about[...]

Congress failed to pass major cyber-security reform during the 2012 legislative session. In the Senate, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pushed the “Secure Act of 2012” to a floor vote, but failed to get the necessary votes. In the House, Republican Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) advocated for a cyber-security reform through a series of individual[...]

Last week, the president issued a long-awaited executive order that seeks to protect critical infrastructure – an action he promised soon after Congress didn’t reach agreement on cyber-security legislation last year. This week, the New York Times reported that a link has been established between cyber-attacks against U.S. companies and firms that provide a variety of services,[...]

This morning we kicked off day two of the TechVoice D.C. Fly-In with a Tech Summit that included exceptional panel members from the private sector and federal government diving into IT workforce, Internet governance and other important issues for the tech entrepreneur. Ernest McDuffe, lead of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, started the morning with[...]

CompTIA’s 10th Annual Information Security Trends study reviews how the use of mobile devices and technologies such as cloud computing create opportunities as well as vulnerabilities, reports Federal Computer Week. Fifty-seven percent of respondents indicated their company has made at least moderate IT security changes to combat those threats over the past two years, while[...]

Many small business owners have put off plans to hire and expand amid uncertainty around what they will face when several Bush-era tax cuts expire at year’s end, said USA Today. Although tax hikes appear to be a likely outcome, there are several legislative scenarios that could alter, minimize or even delay the tax hikes set to kick in this January. After warning that[...]

Passing of new cybersecurity legislation may have to wait until next year. Tech and telecom companies stepped up networking efforts at both national conventions. Obama plans to appoint a secretary of business. The passing of new cybersecurity legislation to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure may have to wait until next year, said The Hill. Even though Defense[...]