Experts debate expansion of president's cybersecurity powers

Existing laws already give the president broad discretion on how to respond to cyberattacks, despite language in a Senate bill that proposes giving the president specific powers during such events, according to experts. "The president already has emergency powers to take any action necessary to act in a national emergency," said Jeffrey Addicott, director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University School of Law. "This includes cyberspace." The president has that power under the National Security Strategy, Addicott said. The most recent National Security Strategy was published in 2006.