“The cyber threat we face is unprecedented and we need an innovative and cooperative approach between the private sector and the federal government to protect the country from it.” —Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV)

Yesterday, Senator John Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, issued a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of every Fortune 500 company seeking information about company cybersecurity practices and their views on pending federal legislation related to cybersecurity.

Senator Rockefeller’s letter focused on the Senate’s recent inability to pass the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, ii which the Senator said he sponsored “to create a voluntary program that would empower the private sector to collaborate with the federal government to develop dynamic and adaptable voluntary cybersecurity practices for companies to implement as they see fit.”