Despite a White House veto threat, the Republican House
passed CISPA in April. The White House had a
number of reasons for opposing the cybersecurity bill, including (ironically) privacy, making the House bill essentially dead in the Senate. So now the Senate has
started work on a narrower bill, with the hangup still being whether they should make private industry take any responsibility for its own protection.
Lawmakers in both chambers and parties agree that Congress must act to protect businesses and vital computer networks from hackers, but they have deadlocked on the question of whether to impose new regulations. [...]
The Commerce Committee's draft bill would task the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with developing voluntary cybersecurity standards and best practices for critical infrastructure, such as banks and power plants. The legislation also aims to improve cybersecurity research, education and public awareness. [...]
Meanwhile, on the Senate Intelligence Committee, leaders Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) have been trying to hammer out a measure that's aimed at improving information sharing about cyber threats between industry and government.
That last one is the one to worry about, the closest counterpart to the House bill, coming from the Intelligence Committee, and from recent experience we know how little protecting individual privacy matters to Feinstein and Chambliss. As always, stay tuned.