Tech Daily Dose

House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., has formed a bipartisan working group to consider ways to increase cybersecurity.

"The threat is real and the economic impact on businesses, especially smaller companies, is serious," Walden said in a statement Wednesday night. "The more information we gather, the more equipped we will be to combat this complex issue."

The working group is tasked with "identifying existing legal impediments to securing communications networks against cyberthreats and incentive-based approaches to encourage private-sector companies to work with each other and the public sector," according to the statement.

Subcommittee vice-chairman Lee Terry, R-Neb., and Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., will lead the group.

Walden also announced that he will hold a hearing on the cybersecurity of communications networks on March 7.

Both the House and Senate are moving toward enacting legislation to curb cyberattacks. In the Senate, several GOP senators will introduce a cybersecurity bill on Thursday as an alternative to legislation backed by Senate Democratic leaders and the White House.