Dive Brief:
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The House Intelligence Committee introduced a bipartisan cybersecurity bill Tuesday that would give companies immunity when they pass cybersecurity information to the government and includes strong privacy protections that will likely help assuage concerns of privacy advocates.
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Lawmakers say The Protecting Cyber Networks Act has a good chance to make it out of both houses of Congress and get a signature from President Obama. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence takes up the bill Thursday to decide whether to recommend it to the full House.
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This and other bills related to cybersecurity have made progress through the Senate and the House, with provisions strengthening privacy concerns that have helped move them through Congress. Together they will help government agencies, private groups, and businesses fight data thefts, experts say.
Dive Insight:
Recent high-profile cyber-attacks like those on several retailers and Sony have made these bills tackling cybersecurity a high priority in Congress. Lawmakers have been working with privacy and anti-surveillance advocates, legal scholars, businesses, and the White House to smooth their passage.
This bill in particular was introduced by Committee chairman Devin Nunes, (R-CA), and Rep. Adam Schiff, (D-CA), who is known as a privacy advocate. They said some resistance is likely still, but that much work has gone into fashioning a bill with broad support.
Retailers need the kind of protection in the The Protecting Cyber Networks Act. While they're often criticized for not sharing information quickly or widely enough when they've been breached, they face legal and privacy concerns when they do share data. This act would give them a safe passage to pass cybersecurity information to the government, which could be a great help in preventing breaches in the future.
