Senate plans joint hearing on Obama's cybersecurity order

By Brendan Sasso - 02/28/13 03:26 PM ET

The chairmen of the Senate Commerce and Homeland Security Committees announced Thursday that they will hold a joint hearing next week on cybersecurity.

The hearing, planned for 2:30 p.m. March 7, will examine the implementation of President Obama's recent executive order on cybersecurity and potential legislation on the issue.

"We simply cannot afford to wait any longer to adequately protect ourselves," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. "This hearing will provide valuable insight into the threats we face and the defenses we need to implement.”

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said that passing cybersecurity legislation is one of his top priorities.

"Nearly every day, we learn of more cyberattacks that underscore just how vulnerable we really are to malicious hackers seeking to steal from us or do us harm. Attacks of any size can hurt our individual pocketbooks, our nation’s economy and global competitiveness, and undermine the free exchange of thoughts and ideas," Carper said.

"While the President’s Executive Order on cybersecurity was an important step, bipartisan legislation is still critically necessary to address this serious security threat," he added.

Earlier this month, Obama signed an executive order that will create a voluntary set of cybersecurity best-practices for companies that operate critical infrastructure, like banks or power plants.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a Commerce Department agency, will craft the standards with input from the private sector.

The executive order also requires federal agencies to share more information with the public about cyber threats.

Rockefeller, Carper and other leading Senate Democrats pushed legislation last year that would have encouraged critical infrastructure companies to meet government security standards and would have allowed companies to share more information about cyber threats with each other and the government.

Senate Republicans blocked the legislation, arguing it would have burdened businesses and done little to prevent attacks.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) is pushing his Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which focuses only on information-sharing and has raised concerns among privacy advocates.