Rep. Zoe Lofgren calls for Narrow Focus on Critical Infrastructure in Potential Obama Cybersecurity Executive Order

San Jose, CA –Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) today released a letter urging the Obama Administration to ensure any executive order it may issue on cybersecurity focuses on genuinely critical infrastructure "such as those that – if disrupted – could cause major economic disruption, the loss of thousands of lives, or severe degradation of national security." A Congressional impasse blocking passage of cybersecurity legislation has reportedly prompted the administration to begin drafting an executive order to protect the nation from possible cyber attacks. Rep. Lofgren noted that exclusion of non-critical online services such as "social networking, search engines, and e-commerce networks" would also help to avoid supervision of content that is protected by the First Amendment and that any such supervision could have a "negative impact on free expression, privacy, business operating costs, and innovation in digital services."

"Cyber attacks can pose serious threats to public safety and national security, and patching vulnerabilities in our computer networks is an urgent task," Rep. Lofgren wrote. "Targeting the executive order to critical infrastructure will allocate agency resources more efficiently, minimizing conflicting regulatory requirements, and address the most acute threats to public safety."

The letter can be viewed by clicking here.

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