Mounting cybersecurity threats against U.S. critical infrastructure, compounded by conflicting rules, have prompted Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and James Lankford, R-Okla., to reintroduce the Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act, which was previously rejected by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee head Rand Paul, R-Ky., CyberScoop reports.
Under the bill, disparate cybersecurity requirements would be consolidated by an Office of the National Cyber Director-led panel, which would also work on establishing appropriate cybersecurity standards. Aside from the leaders of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, such a panel would also include the head of the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. "Bureaucratic red tape shouldn't get in the way of preventing a cyberattack, but complicated regulations are making it more difficult to address the major cyber threats facing our national security and critical infrastructure. Harmonizing these efforts will make sure that federal requirements are focused on actually improving security instead of imposing a convoluted set of compliance challenges," said Lankford.
Under the bill, disparate cybersecurity requirements would be consolidated by an Office of the National Cyber Director-led panel, which would also work on establishing appropriate cybersecurity standards. Aside from the leaders of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, such a panel would also include the head of the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. "Bureaucratic red tape shouldn't get in the way of preventing a cyberattack, but complicated regulations are making it more difficult to address the major cyber threats facing our national security and critical infrastructure. Harmonizing these efforts will make sure that federal requirements are focused on actually improving security instead of imposing a convoluted set of compliance challenges," said Lankford.
