Rockefeller pledges to work with tech leaders to avert "cyber 9/11, cyber Katrina"

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) is imploring the tech community to work with congressional lawmakers to address cybersecurity reform before the nation experiences "a cyber-Katrina, or a cyber-9/11."

During a speech Thursday at the Business Software Alliance's 2010 Cybersecurity Forum, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee predicted anything less that full cooperation would threaten national security and increase the likelihood that an attack would trigger a public response in support of "tough, unbending solutions" that do not favor private industry.

Rockefeller, however, cautioned tech leaders not to balk prematurely at federal attempts to secure government and private networks. Touting his own cybersecurity bill, drafted last year with the help of Ranking Member Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), he stressed "shared responsibility" would be the only way to deter and respond to cyber threats before they wreaked serious havoc.

"So let me be very clear: The regulation-versus-leave it to the markets debate dominates all hearings, but it's a very damaging and false choice," Rockefeller said during the BSA luncheon. "The government cannot do this on its own, and neither can the private sector. We can only succeed if we work together, but to do so we must develop a new way of thinking."

Both Rockefeller and Snowe have long articulated the need for cybersecurity reform, stressing their own legislation as the most viable option. The two lawmakers have already gone through four drafts of their bill, making changes in response industry criticisms that it was too overreaching and broad.

The most prominent, early complaint was that the bill granted the president exceptional, unprecedented power to shut down entire networks in the event of a cyber-emergency. While both lawmakers insisted their bill did no such thing, they nonetheless clarified their language to quiet tech leaders', who have since grown more supportive of the legislation.

The Senate Commerce Committee ultimately cleared the bill last month with ease, leaving it up to the full Senate to decide its fate. But Rockefeller said Thursday he was not entirely sure when the bill would come to the floor, though he did note he had met repeatedly with Senate Democratic leaders to discuss scheduling.

When that bill does reach the full chamber, the West Virginia Democrat predicted his legislation would not encounter much political push back, even though partisan rancor in the Senate has been especially prevalent as of late.

"As you know in the Senate, we like to fight," Rockefeller said, adding that floor time for a bill has become so valuable that politicos ought to trade it like "futures." Still, he added, "I don't think this is going to be a partisan issue."

He also expressed hope that the private tech industry, too, would warm up to the legislation, which he promised to adapt and revise as more businesses and experts raised new ideas and concerns.

"I am proud of how far we've come," Rockefeller said. "But we need to get it done."