The comprehensive bill, which could come up for a debate before the full Senate within the coming weeks, would also address the information sharing issue, but go well farther with the establishment of new oversight authorities for DHS, though the bill's backers are quick to point out that those regulatory powers have significant limitations.

While Napolitano offered a security-oriented defense of the bill in a hearing earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Bryson couched his support in economic terms.

"[T]here is another reason to care about Internet security that is less known: protecting U.S. competitiveness and jobs in the global economy," Bryson said.

That stark warning recalls a strain of argument in the recent debate over controversial legislation designed to help protect intellectual property, proposals that were vocally backed by the film and music industries, but also saw a degree of support from business groups worried about the exfiltration of sensitive corporate information. Backers of the cybersecurity legislation are quick to point out that the cybersecurity bill would include substantial safeguards against online censorship, an issue that became a flashpoint in the IP debate, but that limited government oversight and improved coordination on threats are vital to the protection of U.S. business interests.

Too often, Bryson argued, the full effect of a breach is unreported or unknown, a condition the Cybersecurity Act aims to remedy.