Beyond Boilerplate

The national broadband plan that the FCC issued today offers few surprises in the cybersecurity realm. The plan was assembled in public, and its recommendations -- at least those pertaining to cybersecurity -- were largely known weeks ago.

In some ways, however, the FCC has managed to one-up other agencies by offering proposals that might actually move the ball on cybersecurity policy. For example, the FCC wants to require broadband service providers to follow the network outage reporting rules that now apply only to traditional telephone service.

"The timely and disciplined reporting of network outages will help protect broadband communications networks from cyber attacks by improving the FCC’s understanding of the causes and how to recover," the report says. "This will help improve cybersecurity and promote confidence in the safety and reliability of broadband communications."

Another example: The FCC wants to create a "voluntary cybersecurity certification program." It notes that many businesses aren't making cybersecurity a priority.

"A voluntary cybersecurity certification program could promote more vigilant network security among market participants, increase the security of the nation’s communications infrastructure, and offer end-users more complete information about their providers’ cybersecurity practices," the plan says.

Sure, the plan also contains the conventional boilerplate recommendations about multi-year roadmaps, milestones, public awareness, and international outreach. But it appears that somebody at the FCC is unafraid to consider new cybersecurity rules and programs. -- TL