Shutdown derails implementation of cybersecurity order

By Brendan Sasso - 10/10/13 02:25 PM ET  The Hill  

    
Due to the government shutdown, the Commerce Department will miss its Thursday deadline to release a draft framework of voluntary cybersecurity rules.

President Obama instructed the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to release the draft guidelines by Oct. 10 as part of an executive order he signed in February.

"The continued closure of the government has impacted our ability to conduct the final clearance process on the Cybersecurity Framework," James Hock, a Commerce Department spokesman, said. "We will reevaluate the release date when government operations are fully restored."

The guidelines are intended to help operators of critical infrastructure, such as power plants and banks, better protect their systems from hackers.

 

Obama signed the executive order after Congress failed to pass cybersecurity legislation last year. Republican senators blocked the White House's preferred bill, claiming it would have burdened businesses with unnecessary regulations.

 

Without legislation, the administration has only limited incentives that it can offer companies to meet the cybersecurity standards.