On deck for Tuesday’s vote are almost half a dozen amendments from Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) that seek, respectively, to pump up requirements on removing personally identifiable information (PII), get rid of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemptions, define the terms cyber threat indicator and cybersecurity threat, protect PII that meets the “reasonably believed” standard and sunset the act itself after six years time.
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“When librarians oppose a bill with “information sharing” in its name you can be sure that the bill is decidedly more than advertised”, ALA president Sari Feldman stated last week, and added that CISA “could function, as a practical matter, as a new warrantless surveillance tool”. “As now written, I support this bill”. “Most of the privacy related amendments have been watered down beyond recognition”. “If they choose to ignore the blatantly overwhelming opposition to this bill and pass it anyway, that damage could become irreparable”.
“We need both privacy protection and cybersecurity, and the Senate legislation is one step toward breaking the logjam on security” (“The Post’s View”, Washington Post, 10/22).
The agency is seen as the best able to handle sensitive personal data.
An amendment from Sen.
If enshrined into law, the bill will offer expanded legal liability protections to companies sharing data in the hopes that American businesses will be less hesitant in the future to share information about security breaches with each other and government agencies as soon as possible.
CISA is co-sponsored by Sen.
Earlier this week, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) Chairman Richard Burr and Vice Chairman Dianne Feinstein released a fact sheet on CISA, citing that the bill is designed to protect personal privacy by creating an environment where cybersecurity information can be shared to give all participants a greater understanding of growing cyber threats.
“The administration will strongly oppose any amendments that would provide additional liability-protected sharing channels, including expanding any exceptions to the DHS portal”, the White House said. In September, he called on the Senate to pass CISA during remarks at the Commonwealth Club of California.
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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she too was concerned that the bill would threaten people’s privacy. Perhaps most important, the Senate must answer whether this bill resolves the chronic conditions afflicting America’s security network: unencrypted data, out-of-date systems, unprotected user access, and widespread underfunding.
