Senate panel advances small business cybersecurity bill

The Senate Commerce Committee advanced a bill Wednesday aimed at boosting resources to help small businesses protect their digital assets from cyber threats.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) introduced the bill last week, with a bipartisan group of senators including committee chair John Thune (R-S.D.) and ranking member Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) sponsoring.

The legislation, called the MAIN STREET Cybersecurity Act, would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to give simplified resources to small businesses that choose to use the institute’s cybersecurity framework.

{mosads}NIST develops and updates a cybersecurity framework that for public and private sector entities.

“This legislation will help small businesses get the information they need to protect themselves and their customers from cyberattacks,” Thune said in his opening statement Wednesday morning.

The Senate panel approved the legislation by a voice vote after adopting an amendment offered by Schatz that made small changes to bill’s language.

The legislation is also cosponsored by Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and was introduced last Wednesday. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Small Business Association both backed the legislation last week.