ARLINGTON, Va.—In the wake of President Obama’s announcement of his Cybersecurity National Action Plan in conjunction with the 2017 budget, NAFCU is applauding the president’s increased focus on cybercrime.
The action plan substantially increases the requested amount of federal funding dedicated to cybersecurity, creating a new federal information security chief and proposing a significant increase in efforts to expand the nation’s cybersecurity workforce. The administration is proposing a 35% increase in cybersecurity funding in its budget proposal, up to $19 billion from last year’s allocation of $14 billion.
“We applaud President Obama’s continued commitment to the nation’s growing cybersecurity dangers, which affect our economy and consumers,” said President and CEO Dan Berger. “A year after I attended the President’s White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection at Stanford University, I appreciate the president’s continued focus on cybersecurity and, by extension, data security.”
Last year, the “Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act” (CISA), a NAFCU-supported bill that would encourage faster sharing of cyber-threat information among the business and government sectors, was signed into law by President Obama as part of the year-end omnibus package.
“But more needs to be done,” said Berger. “This year, another major positive step forward would be for Congress to pass a national standard for protection of consumer information such as The Data Security Act of 2015.”
The Data Security Act of 2015, H.R. 2205, is bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) and John Carney (D-DE), which would hold retailers responsible for implementing security measures to protect consumer data. S. 961, is the companion bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), in the Senate.