CRS Reports – Week of 7-29-23 – Cybersecurity Rules

This week the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report on “Harmonic Dissonance—Synching Up Cybersecurity Regulations”. The report notes that on “July 19, 2023, the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) announced that it will start a process to harmonize cybersecurity regulations and seek regulatory reciprocity.” This report looks at some of the issues related to that harmonization process.

An important point is made in the ‘Considerations for Congress’ section of the report:

“Congress may choose to monitor these harmonization efforts in an effort to oversee their success. Congress may face a question of granting new and explicit authorities for issuing regulations or directing an agency to change existing regulations. Congress may also choose to explicitly authorize an office, agency, or council with the responsibility for ensuring that cybersecurity regulations are harmonized (or reciprocal) and empowering that body with the authorities necessary to ensure that it can happen. Congress can also choose to direct regulatory agencies to change their regulations to harmonize or reciprocate with others.”