U.S. Outgunned in Hacker War

A look at the week of April 3 in public advocacy for the IT channel:  The JOBS Act passed Congress and was sent to the President.  A new cyber bill favoring information sharing over regulation was introduced in the House.  Shawn Henry, executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch of the FBI, told the Wall Street Journal that America is losing the cyber war.

JOBS Act Clears Congress — Legislation meant to make it easier for small companies to obtain capital from investors is headed to President Barack Obama for his signature, reports Portfolio. The House last week passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act by a 380-41 margin, accepting the changes made to the JOBS Act by the Senate last week. The legislation will enable small businesses to use the Internet to raise as much as $1 million in small investments from many people, a technique known as crowdfunding.

House Cybersecurity Bill Proposes Information Swaps — The U.S. government and companies operating vital computer networks would be encouraged to share information about cybersecurity threats under a new bill introduced by House Republicans, says Bloomberg.  Companies would be offered incentives, such as protection from lawsuits, in exchange for sharing cyber threat information with the government, according to sponsor Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA).

U.S. Outgunned in Hacker War — The Federal Bureau of Investigation's top cyber official offered a grim appraisal of the nation's efforts to keep computer hackers from plundering corporate data networks: "We're not winning," he said to The Wall Street Journal. Executive Assistant Director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch Shawn Henry, who is preparing to leave the FBI after more than two decades with the bureau, said in an interview that the current public and private approach to fending off hackers is "unsustainable.''