SIIA commends today’s House passage of the Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA, H.R. 624) and three other critical cybersecurity bills passed earlier in the week. Following the House passage of this legislation, I issued the following statement:
Early detection and notification of cybersecurity threats is the most critical component of preventing and mitigating attacks as well as increasing security across the board. SIIA supports CISPA because it would provide the critical necessary framework for early detection and notification of cybersecurity threats. Today, the House clearly recognized this vital need, and as cybersecurity threats and damage continue to grow, it is essential that the Senate move quickly to approve these bills.
CISPA creates the necessary flexibility for businesses to share security information without fear of legal or regulatory liability. Specifically, CISPA would protect companies and organizations that share threat and vulnerability information with the government from legal liability and the risk of lawsuits, while also providing a critical exemption from antitrust laws that currently discourage information exchanges between private companies.
Additionally, SIIA applauds House passage of three other key cybersecurity measures to reform federal information security management and enhance cybersecurity R&D. These measures include:
- Federal Information Security Amendments Act (H.R. 1163)
- Cybersecurity Enhancement Act (H.R. 756)
- Advancing America’s Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act (H.R. 967)
With cyber threats more sophisticated and targeted than ever, now is the time to act on critical cybersecurity legislative priorities. We urge the Senate to move with all deliberate speed to consider these key measures and advance the Nation’s cybersecurity readiness.
Ken Wasch is President of SIIA. Follow the SIIA Software team on twitter at @SIIASoftware.