By Jennifer Martinez – President Obama on Tuesday (Feb 12) signed an executive order aimed at bolstering the cyber defenses of the country’s critical infrastructure.
“An executive order can only direct agencies to do something they already could have done under existing statutes,” a senior administration official said on a conference call with reporters, noting that only legislation can grant companies liability protection from legal action if they are hit with a cyberattack.
The executive order directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which falls under the Commerce Department, to work with companies that operate critical infrastructure to develop a framework of cybersecurity best practices. more> http://tinyurl.com/bccfznx
Related>
- White House Cybersecurity Executive Order: What It Means, J. Nicholas Hoover, InformationWeek
- Obama Orders Cybersecurity Standards for Infrastructure, Eric Engleman, Bloomberg
