While digital rights groups applauded the changes to the bill, Rob Rachwald, director of security strategy at cybersecurity vendor Imperva, called the bill "weakened."

The new bill "drops a lot of mandates," he said in an email. "As much as security professionals may hate to admit it, compliance works."

Private companies will have to focus more on cybersecurity with mandates out of the bill, he added. While the credit card industry has developed its own security standards, "other industries and enterprises only react when they experience a breach -- not a reassuring dynamic," he said.

Still, the bill may help improve cybersecurity in the U.S., Rachwald added. "Something is better than nothing," he said. "Forcing executives to recognize cybersecurity as a pillar of modern business is a necessary step."

The IDG News Service