Section from Blocked Cybersecurity Bill Used in Executive Order Draft

With the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 blocked last month by the US Senate, officials are looking for new ways to ensure that the country’s critical infrastructures are protected against attacks that come from cyberspace.

According to The Hill, a draft of an executive order has been sent out to various agencies for reviewing. Apparently, the five-page draft is based on a section of the bill proposed by Sen. Joe Lieberman.

The goal of this law is to convince organizations that house critical infrastructure to voluntarily sign up to meet best security practices and standards developed, at least partly, by the government.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be the main entity in charge of the program, but other organizations, such as the Department of Defense and the Commerce Department would take part in the inter-agency council.

On the other hand, the director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies James Lewis argues that such a plan would never work because most organizations don’t trust the DHS.