SCADA software developed in China was recently discovered to contain vulnerabilities that could be used to . Also, the Stuxnet virus recently made headlines because it was designed specifically to controlling an Iranian nuclear facility. SCADA is a weak link in the effort to protect the critical infrastructure.

When it comes to fending off viruses, Trojans, phishing scams, and other malicious attacks against you and your PCs and mobile devices, all you really need is a solid cross-device security platform kept up to date to detect and block and threats. Protecting the critical infrastructure of the entire nation is another story.

Legislation aimed at strengthening the nation's critical infrastructure defense has stalled out. The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 is essentially dead in the water after . Opponents feel the bill gives too much power to the Department of Homeland Security and adds unnecessary government regulations that would get in the way of running businesses efficiently.

Perhaps this particular legislation isn't the way to go, but opponents better have a suitable alternative to put on the table. It would be ironic for an attack to cripple our electricity, contaminate our water supply, or shut down our natural gas supply while elected officials bicker about how--or if--we should strengthen our protection of the critical infrastructure.