Cybersecurity measure takes a back seat for co-sponsors

The Senate Commerce Committee's timetable for advancing broad cybersecurity legislation continues to slip as aides retool key provisions and the bill's co-sponsors -- Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine -- continue their prominent roles in the high-stakes healthcare debate.

It appears unlikely that a hearing on the measure will happen this month, Rockefeller aides said Wednesday. An August e-mail from Commerce Committee General Counsel Bruce Andrews to outside groups said the panel was aiming for a hearing and a markup in September or October.

Several sections of the legislation are considered "wet cement," an aide said. One such provision, which high-tech policy watchers argued could give the president the power to effectively shut off the Internet in a Web crisis, is being reworded after lengthy consultations. The goal is to map out the untested responsibilities of the public and private sector in the event of a high-tech hurricane.

More prominent in a forthcoming version of the bill will be language that details how the president and pertinent government and industry officials can develop emergency response plans. Separately, the Homeland Security Department has already conducted two large-scale drills to test the national Web response and is planning a third for September 2010.

The final bill will probably not describe what constitutes an Internet emergency since any definition would risk being interpreted as overly prescriptive or deficient, the aide said. "It's one of those 'you know it when you see it' situations," he added.

Another section that would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology to set "measurable and auditable" risk metrics and best practices for IT products has faced criticism. Tech groups fear the language is too heavy-handed and could give government a role in how firms develop software and hardware. The aide cautioned that section and a related certification provision are still evolving.

"We recognize the most powerful force out there is market incentive," he said, noting that the goal is to supplement already successful industry initiatives with public accountability, not have government dictate standards.

Rockefeller's team acknowledges that other panels with jurisdiction over the issue -- like the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee -- are preparing bills. Making sure that everyone is on the same page will take time.

"There's no way this will pass the Senate until we've worked it out with everybody," the staffer said.