WASHINGTON – The Senate sponsors of comprehensive, bipartisan cybersecurity legislation Thursday announced the support of a major software firm, which said the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, S. 3480, would “address the serious cybersecurity and critical information infrastructure protection issues that challenge our nation.”
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., and Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Thomas Carper, D-Del., welcomed the letter from Robert C. Cresanti, Vice President for Government Relations of the SAP Corporation.
In his letter, Cresanti said: “This legislation focuses much-needed attention on the coordination of government responsibilities…and at the same time, it seeks to promote government-industry partnership in developing workable, risk-based solutions to address a dynamic information technology environment with diverse participants.”
Cresanti specifically cites his company’s support of the section that would require the federal government to develop and implement a strategy to ensure that almost $80 billion of the information technology products and services it purchases each year are secure and don’t provide adversaries with a backdoor into our networks. In the letter he writes that it is “clear that you have made a significant effort to provide a structure to this activity that assures that solutions derive from a timely, effective dialog without undermining the activities of government and the private sector.”
SAP calls itself the world’s largest business software company, selling licenses and offering consulting, maintenance, and training services. It has over 97,000 customers worldwide.
The SAP letter is just the latest in a series of endorsements for S. 3480, the Senators’ cybersecurity legislation, from leading IT advocacy groups and industry leaders, including Microsoft and Symantec.
For additional testimonials about S. 3480, please click here.
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