Yesterday, the Senate voted to move forward with a floor debate of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 (“CSA2012”) (S. 3414), and the White House formally endorsed CSA2012, saying it will strengthen efforts to secure American networks against cyberattacks.  As a result of yesterday’s procedural vote, the Senate is likely to consider the current version of the legislation next week, ahead of the August recess.  As Inside Privacy previously reported, last week, CSA2012’s primary authors introduced a revised version of their bill that incorporates elements drawn from efforts by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to reconcile CSA2012 with the Republican-sponsored SECURE IT Act (S. 3342).  Our prior post provides a comprehensive overview of the approach taken by the revised CSA2012, which looks to voluntary private sector compliance with cybersecurity standards. 

The Senate is expected to consider a number of amendments during the floor debate next week.  Among them, Republican sponsors of the Secure IT Act have indicated that they plan to offer their bill as a substitute amendment to CSA2012.