July 17, 2012 – As I read this story, I was struck by the fact that 90 to 95 percent of all networks in country are private. That leads me to question why the general public is demanding that the US Government do something about cyber security when the brunt of network ownership lies with private entities, not the government itself.

Perhaps we need to assume responsibility for our own networks instead of always wanting Uncle Sam to do all the work and incur all the expenses for us. For one thing, as this article aptly points out, when we hand over the task of securing our networks, we also throw privacy out the window.

The question is, how much of a compromise are we really willing to take. Secondly, how much is sensible and appropriate?

With the Senate hoping to end its deadlock on wide-ranging cybersecurity legislation as early as next week, calls are growing for Congress to do something — anything — to secure America’s computer networks.

The security firm Symantec estimates that businesses around the world lose at least $114 billion annually to cybercrime, and rarely a day goes by without a government official warning of a “digital Pearl Harbor.”

Besides the gridlock that has plagued Congress, there are several reasons why lawmakers have struggled to find ways to combat cyberthreats. Here are five of the most important ones: