The House
Homeland Security
Committee on Tuesday approved legislation to improve cyber defenses in the U.S.
The committee approved H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015, by voice vote.
Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) chaired the committee’s cybersecurity panel in the last Congress and received unanimous House approval Tuesday to temporarily fill a vacated spot on the committee. The cyber legislation was signed into law under Meehan’s leadership.
“Staying one step ahead of the cyber threat and protecting America’s critical infrastructure requires real-time information sharing,” Meehan said. “The legislation enables the private sector to share threat information with the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) and adds robust new privacy protections.”
The National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act builds on a January proposal from President Barack Obama that provides liability protection to companies sharing cyber threat information with the Department of Homeland Security. The bill enables businesses like Sony, Target and Home Depot to voluntarily share their recent cyber-attack information with the civilian NCCIC.
“The bill builds on work we did last Congress to authorize the NCCIC’s mission into law,” Meehan said. “I was pleased to see the committee take these new steps forward and was honored to join with Chairman (Michael) McCaul (R-TX) again to help.”