Tag Archives: Department of Homeland Security

White House Proposes Cybersecurity Legislation

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Hunton & Williams LLP

As we reported last week, on May 12, 2011, the Obama administration announced a comprehensive cybersecurity legislative proposal in a letter to Congress.  The proposal, which is the culmination of two years of work by an interagency team made up of representatives from multiple departments and agencies, aims to improve the nation’s cybersecurity and protect critical infrastructure.  If enacted, this legislation will affect many government and private-sector owners and operators of cyber systems, including all critical infrastructure, such as energy, financial systems, manufacturing, communications and transportation.  In addition, the proposal includes a wide-reaching data breach notification law that is intended generally to preempt the existing state breach laws in 46 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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Updates on Federal Cybersecurity Legislation

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Hunton & Williams LLP

The United States Congress is currently considering several bills addressing cybersecurity issues.  Below are brief summaries of four such bills.

The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense (“GRID”) Act

The GRID Act was passed by the House of Representatives on June 9, 2010.  This bill would amend the Federal Power Act to grant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) authority to issue emergency orders requiring critical infrastructure facility operators to take actions necessary to protect the bulk power system.  Prior to FERC issuing such an order, the President would have to issue a written directive to FERC identifying an imminent threat to the nation’s electric grid.  FERC would be required to consult with federal agencies or facility operators before issuing an emergency order only “to the extent practicable” in light of the nature of the threat.  The GRID Act is being considered by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources at this time.

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Madrid Conference Highlights Difficult Balance between National Security and Privacy

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, the Spanish Minister of the Interior, spoke in contrasting tones today of the difficulties of finding the right balance between security and privacy.  The theme "Striving for a Balance Between Security and Privacy" was debated during the first plenary session of the 31st International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in Madrid.

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Director of United States National Cybersecurity Center Resigns, Citing Obstacles

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Hunton & Williams LLP

Former Silicon Valley entrepreneur Rod Beckstrom has tendered his resignation from the post of Director of United States National Cybersecurity Center, effective March 13, 2009.  In his resignation letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Mr. Beckstrom complained of inadequate funding and criticized the National Security Agency’s dominant role in “most national cyber efforts.”  He characterized this arrangement as “bad strategy” because “intelligence culture is very different than a network operations or security culture,” and he argued that the centralization within one organization of all top-level government network security and monitoring constituted a significant threat to the democratic process.  Mr. Beckstrom’s resignation letter is available here.

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