Senate Takes Up Cybersecurity Bill That Would Encourage Information Sharing

On October 22, the United States Senate moved one step closer to passing the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) by taking the act under consideration for the full Senate. The CISA claims to improve cybersecurity by encouraging the sharing of threat information among companies and the U.S. government.  

Specifically, the CISA would permit private entities to share cyber threat indicators and defensive measures with other private entities and the federal government. Companies would also receive legal protections from antitrust and consumer privacy liabilities for participating in the voluntary program.  

A number of major tech companies have come out in opposition to the proposed legislation due to concerns about privacy and the sharing of personal information. For example, the Computer and Communications Industry Association recently wrote in a blog post that the "CISA's prescribed mechanism for sharing of cyber threat information does not sufficiently