Cybersecurity Bill Hits The Senate This Week

This week, U.S. policymakers are set to debate a cybersecurity bill that would give private companies the go-ahead to share customer data with the government. The bill is intended to beef up the US' defense against cybercrime after a wave of high-profile hacking attacks demonstrated that the security measures taken by both the public and private sectors were light-years behind criminals' tactics.

Why Share?

The bill promotes information sharing as a way to identify and prosecute cybersecurity crimes and provide better protection for both the private and the public sector. In a rare moment of collaboration, the bill has gained support from both Democrats and Republicans in Washington and is expected to easily receive the necessary votes to pass.

Related Link: So You Want To Play The Cybersecurity Sector Right Now...

Concerns

While lawmakers are largely in agreement that the bill is necessary, privacy advocacy groups have been very vocal about their opposition to such a measure.

Nonprofit group Fight For the Future has started a campaign using the hashtag #faxbigbrother which people can use to voice their protests against the bill via a mass fax to all 100 senators.

Groups like Fight For the Future are concerned that the bill paves the way for more government surveillance and could be a major privacy violation. Although the government has promised to use the data solely to combat cybercrime, many worry about the potential for misuse. Under the proposed bill, the government may gain access to everything from healthcare records to bank accounts for millions of Americans without their knowledge.