U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) on May 8 signed on as the lead original cosponsor of a bipartisan bill that would extend the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015 for an additional 10 years.
“The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 has been instrumental in strengthening our nation’s cyber defenses by enabling critical information sharing between the private sector and government,” Sen. Rounds said. “Allowing this legislation to lapse would significantly weaken our cybersecurity ecosystem, removing vital liability protections and hampering defensive operations across both the defense industrial base and critical infrastructure sectors.”
The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Extension Act, S. 1337, which is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), would extend the law that incentivizes companies to voluntarily share cybersecurity threat indicators, such as software vulnerabilities, malware, or malicious IP addresses, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The law protects Americans’ personal information and ensures that both the federal government and companies may take collaborative steps to prevent data breaches or attacks from cybercriminals and foreign adversaries, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Rounds’ staff.
“As cybersecurity threats grow increasingly sophisticated, information sharing is not just valuable — it remains essential for our national security,” said Sen. Peters. “For the past 10 years, these critical protections have helped to address rapidly evolving cybersecurity threats, and this bipartisan bill will renew them so we can continue this collaborative partnership between the private sector and government to bolster our nation’s cybersecurity defenses against a wide range of adversaries.”
Since it was first enacted ten years ago, the CISA of 2015 has helped foster collaboration between industry leaders and federal agencies, enabling the identification and mitigation of cybersecurity threats. The information sharing also helps prevent breaches and helps CISA support victims of attacks as they recover, among other benefits, the summary says.