WASHINGTON: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing, with strong bipartisan support, H.R. 1650, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act (PCNA), and H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015 (NCPAA).
“This necessary legislation will improve information sharing between businesses and government entities, giving both the tools they need to better prepare for and protect against cyber threats,” said Bruce Josten, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President for Government Affairs. “The Chamber has long advocated for legislation that gives businesses strong protections from liability when voluntarily sharing and receiving cyber-threat indicators and taking actions to mitigate cyberattacks–and these bills do that.”
Getting industry-supported information-sharing legislation passed is the Chamber’s top cybersecurity legislative priority this year. The Chamber circulated a Key-Vote letter urging members of the House to support the House bills.
“This bipartisan legislation will help businesses counter real and serious cyber adversaries. Increasingly sophisticated and malicious actors–criminals, terrorists, and nation-states or their proxies–seek to harm the infrastructure and economy of the United States,” said Governor Tom Ridge, chair of the Chamber’s National Security Task Force. “This legislation will knock down barriers to cybersecurity monitoring and information sharing that hinder companies with even the best of intentions. Improved information sharing helps both businesses and our government partners bolster their defenses against cyberattacks.”
Last year the Chamber launched a cybersecurity awareness and education campaign aimed at encouraging businesses to have a cybersecurity plan as well as advocate for information sharing legislation. The campaign will continue this year with outreach and roundtables across the country.
“The goal of this legislation is to help companies achieve timely and actionable situational awareness to improve the business community’s and the nation’s detection, mitigation, and response capabilities, and action could not have come soon enough” Josten said. “The Chamber now urges the Senate to take up and swiftly pass S. 754, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015.”
Additionally, the Chamber led the Protecting America’s Cyber Networks Coalition in sending a multi-industry letter, signed by 39 organizations, to members of the House urging passage of both H.R. 1650 and H.R. 1731.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
