The House Committee on Homeland Security passed a cyber security information sharing bill out of Committee on Tuesday, one day after the Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) chairman of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies subcommittee, introduced it (Defense Daily, April 13).
The bill was adopted by a voice vote after 20 amendments were considered. Of the 20 amendments brought up, 17 passed by voice vote. Three of four amendments brought by Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) failed by a vote of 10-15, 11-16, and 12-17, respectively. These amendments largely consisted of altering liability protections language in the bill.
The approved amendment added language to the bill stating “the [National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration] Center ensures that is shares information relating to cybersecurity risks and incidents with small and medium-sized businesses, as appropriate.”
The National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015, now H.R. 1731, would provide liability protections for companies that voluntarily share cyber threat indicators in good faith with the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) and other private entities.