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Cyber Divide: Cybersecurity continues to dominate the tech agenda in the upper chamber, with CQ's Tim Starks reporting that battle lines have been drawn over whether any bill should include new security requirements for the private firms deemed most critical to national security. Supporters of the comprehensive bill in front of the Senate (S 2105), including the White House and the Senate Homeland Security Committee leadership, say any legislation should include protections for critical infrastructure providers. But Senate Republicans released an alternative last week (S 2151) that avoids any new regulations, while focusing on increasing information-sharing between the public and private sector. While cybersecurity experts have been consistent on the need for baseline security standards, the House appears unlikely to pass sweeping new security regulations in the run-up to an election.

You can expect Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; and other cybersecurity hawks to keep pushing for the inclusion of a security mandate, but a compromise will be necessary for any bill to pass Congress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., sent us a statement Friday that promised a fair hearing to the GOP bill and even suggested there is some room for compromise. Democrats have been welcoming the information-sharing measures championed by the House even though they don't go as far, an indication that both sides would view the passage of any bill a political win in this nascent policy area.

"This legislation demonstrates an encouraging willingness from senators on both sides of the aisle to engage in a constructive and open-minded debate about urgently needed cybersecurity legislation. Perhaps the most important contribution of this legislation is to highlight areas of broad agreement that should be included in a final comprehensive cybersecurity measure. It is an imperative for our national security that such a measure also address cybersecurity in the nation's most critical infrastructure.  I look forward to a debate on the Senate floor that will ensure this bill and other proposals get a fair hearing, and which will allow thorough consideration of amendments to improve the legislation," Reid said. "The Department of Defense has warned us that the cyberthreat to our nation's security and economy is growing each day, and addressing it must be an urgent priority."

DOJ Tech Boss joins Deloitte: CQ's Kristen Coyner reports that Van Hitch has joined the consulting firm Deloitte as senior adviser in the federal practice after nine and a half years as director of information technology at the Justice Department. Hitch's longevity in the position is notable in Washington, where the average federal chief information officer lasts just two years. Before joining Justice, Hitch, 67, worked at Accenture for 28 years. More Movement: CQ Weekly informs us that Kirk Monroe has left the Business Roundtable to join Prism Public Affairs as executive vice president. Monroe recently worked with the industry group "Coalition to Save our GPS" to oppose LightSquared's plan to build a wireless broadband network, which the Federal Communications Commission moved to reject in recent weeks. Health IT Rulemaking Critical: CQ HealthBeat editor John Reichard brings us a in-depth look at how a $27 billion effort to encourage health care providers to adopt information technology will rely heavily on establishing standards that ensure the various electronic health record systems are capable of communicating with each other. Schumer Wants FTC Probe of Apple, Android: Reuters reports that Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to the Federal Trade Commission on Sunday, urging the agency to investigate reports that apps on both smartphone platforms post private photos online without users' consent. Schumer argued that taking the photos violates both platforms' terms of service. Google is currently facing FTC scrutiny over recent changes to its privacy policy. The search giant is also bound by the terms of a settlement agreement with the commission over privacy issues and could face financial penalties if the FTC finds it misled consumers. Drone Use on the Uptick: The Economist's Technology Quarterly notes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are moving beyond military use and could be widely deployed by law enforcement and civilians across the globe. The European Commission is working to establish a regulatory regime under which civilians could operate drones; the Federal Aviation Administration is awaiting presidential approval to do the same here in the United States. But significant safety and civil liberties issues remain, with privacy advocates such as the ACLU worrying about the potential of constant police surveillance. Is Jeff Bezos the new Steve Jobs? Also from The Economist, a look at Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose penchant for long-term thinking and ambitious bets on commercial space flight and cloud computing might make him the successor to the late Steve Jobs of Apple as the tech world's prime visionary. This post was updated at 1:40 p.m.