U.S. Congressman Brad Ashford (NE-02) this week put his support behind two bipartisan plans which would enable private businesses to voluntarily share information regarding cyber threats--with one another and the federal government-- while protecting personal information.
"We're in cyber-wars with several countries," said Rep. Ashford, a member of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus. "Safeguarding our consumers and businesses from these nameless, faceless cyber-crooks is a must."
Recent cyber-attacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment, Target stores and health insurer Anthem have heightened the need for legislation and both the House and Senate have responded.
This week H.R. 1560, Protecting Cyber Networks Act, passed the House by a vote of 307 to 116 while H.R. 1731, National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act, passed 355 to 63. The Senate Intelligence Committee backed similar efforts last summer. Under the measures approved by the House, private sector firms would be granted certain legal liability protections when sharing data with federal agencies.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be allowed to share the cyber threat information it gathers with the private sector. Private firms would be generally required to remove all personally identifiable information, while DHS would do a second scrubbing removing any personal information which might remain. Both measures provide no authority for the government to conduct surveillance on individuals.