Washington, DC (February 19, 2014) – Venable attorneys and a cybersecurity policy thought-leader gathered today to review the recently released NIST Cybersecurity Framework. In a midday webinar Jamie Barnett, Rear Admiral USN (Retired), Jason Wool and Ariel Wolf from Venable and Larry Clinton, President and CEO of Internet Security Alliance (ISA), considered what the reaction from business and other stakeholders will be to this important document.
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is the culmination of a year-long collaboration between owners and operators of critical infrastructure and the federal government to standardize cyber risk management. Within the framework, there is an increased focus on flexibility and the business case for cyber risk management. Controls are divided into five “core functions”: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover. Speakers noted that both the White House and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have stated that safety is its own incentive and while the expectation is that market-based incentives will develop “organically”, businesses still desire additional bottom-line incentives such as liability limitation.
The panel covered relevant issues such as:
- Exposure of business to liability if the framework it adopts is imperfectly implemented or not adopted at all
- Whether or not the framework establishes a de facto standard of care, and if so, whether this standard of care extends beyond critical infrastructure
- Whether cost will be a determining factor in adoption of the framework, especially by small businesses
- Whether future regulations relating to cybersecurity will be based on the NIST Framework
The full webinar including slides, is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVONwiWndaM or on the firm’s website at: www.Venable.com/New-Cybersecurity-Framework-Released-What-You-Need-to-Know-02-19-2014.
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