Sen. Carper Statement on President’s Executive Order on Information Sharing

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and  Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following statement in response to President Obama’s Executive Order on Promoting Private Sector Cybersecurity Information Sharing:

“Given the threats we face today, the federal government and private industry need to do all that they can to protect themselves and the public from cyber attacks. While the four cybersecurity bills signed into law last year made significant progress in enhancing our nation’s cyber defenses, more must be done. I am pleased that the Administration continues to take steps to give industry better tools to bolster their cyber defenses. One of our top priorities must be to increase the sharing of cyber threat data among private industry and from the federal government. Today’s Executive Order complements the legislation I introduced earlier this week that would give companies clear legal authority and liability protection to share critical data while still maintaining privacy protections. A robust cybersecurity strategy is vital to our economic and national security, and Congress, the Administration, private industry, and other stakeholders must work together to address our cybersecurity needs while upholding the civil liberties we all cherish. I look forward to learning more about the Administration’s Executive Order and working together as we address this critical issue.”

On Wednesday, Sen. Carper introduced The Cyber Threat Sharing Act of 2015. The bill would take critical steps to remove barriers in order to increase the sharing of cyber threat data between private industry and the federal government by: authorizing data sharing and providing liability protections; requiring sharing within the government and protection of information; encouraging government to industry sharing and improved coordination; and building in strong privacy protections. 

Last Congress, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee authored several cybersecurity bills, which the president signed into law in December. Those include the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (S.2521) to update the Federal Information Security Management Act, the National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014 (S.2519) authorizing a National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center at the Department of Homeland Security for information sharing, and two bills to improve the federal cybersecurity workforce — the Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act (H.R.2952) and the Border Patrol Pay Reform Act (S.1691) (which contains provisions from the DHS Cybersecurity Workforce Recruitment and Retention Act of 2014).