Langevin Applauds Passage of Cybersecurity Legislation

Press Release

Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), co-founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, today offered his support for H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act, which passed the House by a vote of 307-116.

"This legislation has been a long time coming. The Protecting Cyber Networks Act successfully strikes the delicate balance between strengthening cyber defenses and preserving privacy and civil liberties, and I am so proud to be a part of its passage," said Langevin. "This bill is not perfect, but, when combined with the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act we will consider tomorrow, it will represent a major step in the right direction and I look forward to continuing to craft this legislation to ensure it best serves our cybersecurity needs and the concerns of the American people."

The Protecting Cyber Networks Act requires the Director of National Intelligence to establish procedures to promote the voluntary sharing of cyber threat information between private industry and the federal government. Sharing threat signatures and other breach information allows both parties to fortify their networks against similar attacks in the future. Under this bill, the DNI would also establish a framework to protect privacy and civil liberties, including safeguards that ensure shared information may not be used by other entities to gain an unfair competitive advantage. Both sets of procedures would be crafted in consultation with the Departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, Justice, Commerce and Defense.

"After carefully studying this issue for nearly a decade, I can firmly say that this bill represents tremendous progress in our national cybersecurity. With these voluntary information sharing tools, both the private and public sectors can better protect networks from attack," Langevin continued. "I do have concerns over the liability protections provided for in this bill, which I fear could be construed to protect a company's failure to act on threat indicators. I hope this is an area we can continue to work on, and ultimately find a solution that incentivizes good cybersecurity practices while still holding companies accountable."

A senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Homeland Security, Langevin served for eight years on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence until 2014, when he reached the term limit. While serving on Intelligence, Langevin worked closely with former Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and former Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) on similar information-sharing legislation.

"The legacies of Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Ruppersberger are clearly evident in this legislation, and I am grateful to them both for their leadership on this important issue. I likewise congratulate current Chariman Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) for rising to the challenge. They have continued the bipartisan spirit that has long animated the Intelligence Committee's cybersecurity work and, as a result, produced an even better product," he said. "There is clearly a growing movement calling for stronger cyber defenses, and I am hopeful that today's victory will build on that momentum."

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