Message to lawmakers, cyber commission: Keep it flexible, voluntary

Lawmakers held seven cybersecurity-related hearings this week before heading out for the conventions and summer recess, and one common – though not unanimous – theme was the need for flexibility over mandates in cyber policy.

The question is open on where cyber policy falls along the spectrum of regulatory versus voluntary approaches, two-and-a-half years after the Obama administration positioned the voluntary framework of cybersecurity standards as the centerpiece of its strategy to secure critical infrastructure and the digital economy.

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