Shortly after JBS experienced a cyberattack that crippled beef processing capacity for several days, two senators introduced a bill to study the risks of private companies responding to cyberattacks.
Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Steve Daines (R-MT) introduced legislation that would direct the Department of Homeland Security to study the risks and benefits of allowing private organizations to take offensive actions against cyberattacks.
Currently, only the federal government can conduct offensive cyber operations and unauthorized private entities are limited to defensive operations.
“The federal government should do more to empower the private sector to directly counter cyber threats from across the globe rather than tie their hands,” Daines said in a statement.
