Democratic platform diverges with GOP on cybersecurity

The Democratic platform released late Monday touted "the unprecedented steps" the Obama administration has taken to defend the United States from cyber attacks and vowed to continue strengthening the nation's cyber defenses.

Democrats noted that the first military command focused on cybersecurity, known as U.S. Cyber Command, was set up under President Obama's watch and that the administration has completed a full review of the federal government's efforts to protect key infrastructure and data from cyber threats. The Democratic Party said it would continue this push to boost the security of the nation's critical computer systems and networks from hackers, terrorist networks and hostile countries looking to wreak damage against infrastructure that's key to public safety and the economy. 

"We will continue to take steps to deter, prevent, detect, and defend against cyber intrusions by investing in cutting-edge research and development, promoting cybersecurity awareness and digital literacy, and strengthening private sector and international partnerships," the platform reads.

It's a far cry from the GOP platform approved at the party's convention last week. In their cybersecurity plank, Republicans argued that Obama's approach to cybersecurity has been too regulatory and reliant on defensive capabilities.

The Democratic platform, which is slated to be approved this week, states that the president has pushed for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation that strikes a balance between computer security and the protection of Americans' privacy rights. The White House has taken a tough stance against legislation that it believes will upset this balance and violate privacy and civil liberties. Notably, it threatened to veto the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act before it cleared the House this past spring.

It also states that "going forward, the President will continue to take executive action to strengthen and update our cyber defenses."

After the Senate stalled on cybersecurity legislation last month, the White House is considering drafting an executive order that would put cybersecurity measures in place to better protect critical infrastructure from cyber attacks. However, the administration has kept quiet about what those possible measures would look like.

The GOP would likely bash such a cybersecurity executive order. In their platform, Republicans cautioned that the Obama administration's cybersecurity approach would add another layer of bureaucracy and costs to an already bloated federal government and ultimately harm innovation.

Republicans also argued in their platform that improving the sharing of information about cyber threats between government and industry was the best way to boost the nation's cybersecurity. However, the Obama administration has repeatedly said that it believes information sharing alone is not enough to defend against sophisticated cyber threats, and argued that companies operating key infrastructure should meet some sort of cybersecurity standards.