Cybersecurity Act of 2012 Fails in US Senate for the Second Time

Despite the fact that the legislation’s initiators – Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins – have urged their colleagues to pass the much needed bill, the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 has failed in Senate once again.

According to The Hill, the bill was rejected after 51 senators voted against it.

Just before the vote, Sen. Lieberman urged his colleagues to give the legislation a chance to “protect the American people from a cyberattack and cyber theft.”

The senator warned that if the law didn’t pass, President Obama would be forced to issue an executive order to address cyber security concerns.

In the meantime, the US president has reportedly already signed a cyber operations directive that gives federal authorities the power to handle cyberattacks more efficiently.

The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 mainly focuses on encouraging companies in charge of the nation’s critical infrastructure to boost their security systems, and on creating standards for cooperation between the private and the public sectors.