Congress took an important bipartisan step forward today toward helping American businesses better protect their digital networks from dangerous and destructive cyber attacks. The passage of the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement (NCPA) Act of 2015 (H.R. 1731), with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 355-63, will help stop cyber criminals in their tracks, and better protect American companies from cyber espionage campaigns from nation states like China, Russia, and Iran.
U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies Subcommittee Chairman John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, issued the following statements on the bill's passage:
Chairman McCaul said: "American companies will have the tools they need to better protect their digital networks with this legislation. We live in an ever-evolving threat environment where cyber attacks are personally affecting Americans, as well as our businesses and the government's ability to defend the United States. Removing the legal barriers for the voluntary sharing of cyber threats will help keep malicious nation states and cyber criminals out of our vital digital networks. This bipartisan, pro-privacy, pro-security bill has been three years and hundreds of stakeholder meetings in the making. I look forward to moving this landmark bill over to the Senate and getting it to the President's desk as quickly as possible."
Subcommittee Chairman Ratcliffe said: "I came to Washington to solve problems and make our country a safer place for all Americans. The National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act is a much needed bill that accomplishes both. By passing this legislation, we are proactively protecting the national security of our country and the personal privacy of our citizens -- both of which, under the status quo, remain vulnerable to malicious attacks from cyber adversaries. I am grateful to have worked with fellow Texan, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, along with Ranking Member Bennie Thompson and Mr. Cedric Richmond to move this legislation forward. Ultimately, it will arm those who protect our networks with valuable cyber threat indicators that they can use to fortify defenses against future cyber intrusions while protecting the personal information of Americans."