A report from the USA today conveys that proposed cybersecurity legislation which aims to be passed by the end of the year, would give the US President the power to declare a state of emergency if faced with online attacks.  Certain businesses and industries would also be temporarily shut down, or also be required to take certain steps in order to alleviate the threat.

The declaration of emergency is proposed to last for 30 days, with the President having the power to renew it. Congress would have to approve any renewal past 90 days.

Opposition the draft bill has already been heard from NetChoice (including Yahoo, eBay and News Corp) on the grounds that companies which would be categorised as critical under the bill would not be allowed to ask a court to amend that categorisation.

There is a fear among businesses that the government is interfering too far into businesses by making a requirement of ‘critical infrastructure’ for components of the business.  A Senate staffer gave an example of such a designation: “Citibank router A to the New York Stock Exchange may be considered critical. It’s not all of Citibank. It’s not the entire banking sector.”