Earlier today, Business Roundtable circulated a letter to Senate leadership voicing the commitment of Business Roundtable CEOs to work with Congress to construct workable and effective cybersecurity solutions, for both the public and private sectors.

The letter, which can be found here, expresses BRT's support for the information sharing provisions in the SECURE IT Act (S. 3342), but also outlines concerns with the revised Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (S. 3414). Regarding S. 3414, BRT acknowledges that Congress has made strides in creating a more collaborative environment for the government and the private sector to combat cybersecurity threats. While the revised legislation does not create new regulatory authorities, it does create new requirements for owners and operators of designated critical cyber infrastructure and creates the potential for cybersecurity standards to become mandatory.  This approach would lead to prescriptive regulations that would force companies to shift limited resources from security to compliance.

The Business Roundtable’s "Mission Critical: A Public-Private Strategy for Information Security" emphasizes Business Roundtable CEOs' commitment to strong private-sector cybersecurity protections and proposes a strategy for a more modern, flexible and collaborative approach to safeguarding America’s economic and national security assets from cybersecurity risks.  Business Roundtable encourages the use of existing collaborative public-private partnerships, rather than duplicating current efforts.

Comprehensive and realistic cybersecurity legislation is essential to our national and economic security.  We are ready to work with Congressional leaders to generate innovative solutions that meet the demands of the growing cyber threat.  In April, The House of Representatives passed the BRT-endorsed Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (H.R. 3523).  Business Roundtable recognizes this legislation as an important and effective step in the creation of a threat information sharing program between the government and the private sector. 

Business Roundtable reaffirms its commitment to work with Congress to advance legislation consistent with our "Mission Critical" policy statement that provides security to the American people.