White House will push piecemeal cybersecurity bills

WASHINGTON - In an effort to push cybersecurity legislation through Congress, the Obama administration has given up trying to pass one big bill and is opting to break up the legislation into bite-size chunks that lawmakers are more likely to approve, the White House cybersecurity czar said Thursday.

"I think it's easier to get smaller pieces through rather than one big cybersecurity bill," said White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel at a news event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor and the Center for National Policy.

Daniel said the administration will now focus on "getting whatever we can passed" using whatever legislative vehicle is available. He also acknowledged it will be difficult to make that happen this year, meaning the issue will likely be passed to the new Congress in January.

"We remain committed to (passing legislation)," he said. "Obviously, getting anything passed on Capitol Hill right now is a challenge."

The administration is seeking legislation that would make it easier for the Department of Homeland Security to work with private companies to prevent hacker attacks such as the one revealed recently against JPMorgan Chase and nine other U.S. financial institutions. It also wants to increase the agency's legal authority to fight cyberterrorists and allow DHS to hire more cybersecurity professionals to close the security holes that hackers exploit.

The House passed a cybersecurity bill earlier this year. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has approved several smaller bills. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has been urging Congress to act this year to pass the provisions of cyberlegislation that have bipartisan agreement.

In the meantime, President Obama will continue to use his executive authority to improve cybersecurity as much as he is able, Daniel said.

Daniel said a major step forward would be for Americans to stop using passwords as their major method of computer security. Password technology is just too vulnerable to attack, he said.

"I would really like to kill the password dead," Daniel said.

Instead, he advocated the use of biometric security measures such as using your fingerprint to access your computer or smartphone or face recognition security through the device's camera.

"Selfies could actually be used for something other than posting on Facebook," Daniel said.