Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) has introduced a bill she suggests could vaccinate computer networks against the "majority of hacks."
The Promoting Good Cyber Hygiene Act is billed as building on President Obama's executive order directing the creation of voluntary best practices for network security. That includes "establishing" through legislation those "voluntary" best practices.
Eshoo is actively seeking co-sponsors, with a source saying the bill had some computer industry endorsements, including from Oracle.
The bill would help combat cybercriminals by:
1. "Establishing a baseline set of voluntary best practices;
2. "Ensuring these practices are reviewed and updated annually;
3. "Making the established best practices available in a clear and concise manner on a publicly accessible website; and
4. "Instructing the Department of Homeland Security to study cybersecurity threats relating to mobile devices."
“Our nation’s computer networks—public and private—are under constant attack from cyber criminals,” Eshoo said in introducing the bill. “It’s estimated that these attacks cost our economy nearly half a trillion dollars annually in identity theft, stolen blueprints, exposed financial information, and more...Our digital world is imperfect, but this is not an acceptable excuse for the millions of consumers who’ve had their identities stolen, their bank accounts drained or their credit destroyed, especially if it could have been prevented.”
