Privacy and cybersecurity get political legs

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[Commentary] When I joined the Obama administration five years ago, I set out with like-minded colleagues at the Commerce Department to tackle key issues for the digital economy and protect the ecology of the Internet. At the top of the agenda were cybersecurity and consumer privacy. These efforts were empowered by the White House and bore fruit with the 2012 privacy blueprint that articulated the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights and with the 2014 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. Even so, these policy initiatives played supporting roles outside the spotlight. Seeing cybersecurity and privacy take center stage in recent months has been a striking turn.

Congress also has embraced these issues. The last days of the 113th Congress saw the surprise passage of four bills on cybersecurity addressing responsibilities of federal agencies, which President Obama promptly signed. The 114th Congress has picked up where its predecessor left off, with members introducing several bills and several committees scheduling early hearings on cybersecurity and privacy.


Privacy and cybersecurity get political legs