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Cybersecurity Bill Does Not Pass Senate

Sen. Joe Lieberman's new, more modest version of his cybersecurity bill was rejected in a 51-47 vote.

Sen. Joe Lieberman's new, more modest version of his cybersecurity act failed in the Senate on Wednesday evening, The Hill reported. It was rejected in a 51-47 vote -- the closest the Senate has ever gotten to passing extensive cybersecurity legislation in recent years. 

The vote signifies the end of the cybersecurity bill, according to The Hilll, and any legislative action on the matter moves into 2013.

The last cybersecurity bill -- Lieberman's Cybersecurity Act of 2012 -- was blocked by House Republicans and supporting organizations that called the bill "deeply flawed." Many of the same concerns continue to linger with civil liberties groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which warned that the bill gives "companies new rights to monitor our private communications and pass that data to the government."

In addition to encouraging companies that operate critical infrastructure to enhance their computer systems' security, the Cybersecurity Act also would have made it easier for industry to share with government information about cyber threats seen on their networks.