Federal Legislation Proposed To Combat Cyber-Espionage

Cybersecurity has become a growing concern in the United States.  Legislation impacting this topic covers a variety of fields, including national security and defense, trade and international relations, intellectual property, and even privacy and civil liberties.  As technology is constantly changing, so too are the types of restrictions in place.

A group of prominent American Senators recently introduced the Deter Cyber Theft Act, a bill designed to reduce the threat of foreign cyber-espionage and trade secret theft. The bill is a bipartisan effort, sponsored by Carl Levin, John McCain, Jay Rockefeller, and Tom Coburn.  The proposed legislation would create a registry of stolen technology and also provide for punitives for foreign firms attempting to sell products which make use of this stolen technology.  The bill would require the Director of National Intelligence to provide annual reports regarding trade secret theft, and countries and individuals involved in cyber-espionage or trade secret theft. The Director of National Intelligence’s records would also include a list of the worst offenders, as well as the particular technologies targeted by espionage.  Furthermore, the report would list countries and companies which “benefitted from the theft and the action taken by the U.S. government to combat cyber espionage.”  The President would also be required to block those imports that involve the use of stolen American technology or made by “state-owned enterprises of nations on the DNI’s priority watch list that are similar to items identified as being made using stolen technology.”

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