Silicon Valley has a chance to influence cyber security policy: column

U.S. cybersecurity policy has followed  a Jekyll-and-Hyde path lately.

In December, Congress passed a bill making it easier for U.S. software companies to hold onto their proprietary technology, to encourage them to share data on cyber threats. It was part of a new push for open cybersecurity standards to help combat rapidly-evolving threats.

In April, however, the Senate Intelligence Committee introduced a bill that would force U.S. companies to provide backdoor access to encrypted data to law enforcement in response to a warrant.

While the legislation has yet to go to a full committee vote, it’s sponsored by the committee’s chair, Richard Burr, Republican of North Carolina, and Dianne Feinstein of Calif., its ranking Democrat. The bill would weaken the competitiveness of products of domestic firms relative to foreign rivals whose software is not subject to such coerced hacking.

Yet true to the current carrot-and-stick-and-carrot approach this Congress has taken, last week the House Committee on Homeland Security introduced its own bill that would “take much-needed strides toward fixing the procurement challenges of cybersecurity startups,” according to a letter sent by the National Venture Capital Association in support of the bill. For the full article click here 

from cyber security caucus http://ift.tt/1UQuaS4
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