Nominee for Top Spy Chief Praises Bond - Hatch Cyber Security Bill

Press Release

Yesterday, President Obama's nominee to be the next Director of National Intelligence, General James Clapper, praised the cyber security bill, the National Cyber Infrastructure Protection Act of 2010, that was recently introduced by U.S. Senators Kit Bond (R-MO) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

"We don't have another day to waste in dealing with the threat of cyber attacks, so I am pleased that General Clapper recognizes the common sense approach our bill takes to cyber security," said Bond. "Our bill requires that the government get its own cyber security house in order and work with the companies on the front lines of this war."

"There's no question that one of the greatest threats to our nation's security are dangerous and increasing cyber attacks," said Hatch. "Senator Bond and I have put forward common-sense legislation to beef up cyber security in America. I'm very encouraged that General Clapper believes this is a well-thought out approach to help better protect our homeland."

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, General Clapper stated that a solution to how the government should handle its cyber security "is in the legislation that has been proposed by Senators Bond and Hatch . . ." Clapper also praised "some appealing features" in the bill, including "putting someone clearly in charge, having an identifiable budget aggregation, [and] co- location either physically or virtually [in the National Cyber Center]."

The National Cyber Infrastructure Protection Act of 2010 will put our nation on the right path to securing our networks. The bill is based on three principles. First, Congress must set lanes in the road to protect our nation's cyber security, but leave flexibility for the private sector and Government to adapt to changing threats. Next, there must be one person who has real authority to coordinate our cyber security efforts across the federal government. This bill puts an end to the current authority gap and designates a Senate-confirmed individual, who is accountable to both Congress and the American people and reports directly to the President, to coordinate these efforts. Learning from past congressional failures, the Senators' bill gives the new Cyber Director the clout needed to do the job, including clear input into cyber budgets across all federal agencies.

In addition, the Bond-Hatch bill creates a voluntary, public-private partnership, the Cyber Defense Alliance, to facilitate the flow of information about cyber threats and the latest technologies between the private sector and government. The Senators pointed out that since the private sector is often on the front lines of cyber attacks, encouraging their sharing of information with the government--and the government's sharing of information with them--will make all our networks more secure.

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