Addressing The Cyber Threat: Cybersecurity Executive Order Issued And CISPA Introduced

The long-awaited executive order entitled "Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity" was issued on Tuesday, along with a companion Presidential Policy Directive and mention by the President in the State of the Union address. The order is similar in content and organization to the November 2012 draft which was previously discussed here. As before, the Executive Order contains the following elements: improvements in information sharing between the public and private sectors; application by implementing agencies of the Fair Information Practice Principles; development by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of a "Cybersecurity Framework" of standards, methodologies and processes that are consistent with voluntary international standards; an invitation to the private sector to participate in a voluntary critical infrastructure Cybersecurity Program; and identification of critical infrastructure at greatest risk. Private sector participation in the