Obama presses Congress on cybersecurity bill

In a July 19 Wall Street Journal opinion piece, President Barack Obama urged Senate action on cybersecurity, urging Capitol Hill lawmakers to pass comprehensive legislation.

Describing a recent cyber attack drill exercise, Obama called for cybersecurity to be a top priority, and to pass laws that would enable information-sharing, address security concerns and protect civil liberties.

“It doesn’t take much to imagine the consequences of a successful cyber attack. In a future conflict, an adversary unable to match our military supremacy on the battlefield might seek to exploit our computer vulnerabilities here at home,” he wrote. “This is the future we have to avoid. That’s why my administration has made cybersecurity a priority, including proposing legislation to strengthen our nation’s digital defenses. It’s why Congress must pass comprehensive cybersecurity legislation.”

Obama also said he would veto any cybersecurity legislation lacking strong privacy and protections for civil liberties.

The piece comes just as Congress prepares to take up a compromise cybersecurity bill constructed from multiple proposed pieces of legislation. On July 24, a group of five senators working on the compromise bill are expected to address the press in a briefing on the legislation.