Peters Warns of Serious National Security Consequences if Proven Protections in the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act are Allowed to Expire
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, urged his colleagues to extend critical cybersecurity protections that are set to expire on October 1st. Peters laid out the critical role the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 has played over the last decade in safeguarding our nation’s information networks and protecting critical industries against the threat of cyberattacks, and called on his colleague to pass his bipartisan bill that would extend the law for another 10 years. In his remarks, Peters warned of the dangerous consequences to our national security and our economy if these provisions are allowed to lapse.
“The protections in this law enable us to mitigate threats before cybersecurity systems become compromised, and irreversible damage is inflicted across our economy,” said Peters. “If those protections are allowed to lapse, our nation’s information networks will be more exposed, vulnerable, and defenseless than ever before.”
To watch the full video of Senator Peters’ remarks, click here.
During his remarks, Peters pointed to recent cyberattacks—including a Chinese government-backed breach that exploited Microsoft SharePoint and the Russian-linked Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack—as examples of the escalating cybersecurity threats facing industries across the United States. In both cases, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 facilitated rapid information sharing and coordination between the government and the private sector to mitigate the damages against our economy, communities, and critical infrastructure.
“Adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran are actively working to develop better tools and utilize artificial intelligence to supercharge their cyberattack capabilities, said Peters. “If we don’t take immediate action to prevent these cybersecurity protections from expiring – we will lose one of our nation’s best defenses and empower our adversaries to launch more attacks.”
In April, Peters and U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the cybersecurity law for another ten years. Officials from the Trump Administration and more than 100 companies and industry stakeholders support extending these cybersecurity protections for 10 more years, including the Business Roundtable, the Business Software Alliance, the Banking Policy Institute, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Information Technology Industry Council.
Since it was first enacted, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 has been instrumental in fostering voluntary information sharing and collaboration between industry leaders and federal agencies, enabling the identification and mitigation of cybersecurity threats. Information sharing about security flaws also helps prevent significant breaches and helps support victims of attacks as they recover.
In his role on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters has led efforts to ensure our nation is better prepared to defend against cyberattacks. His historic, bipartisan provision to require critical infrastructure owners and operators to report if they experience a substantial cyberattack or if they make a ransomware payment was signed into law. Peters’ bipartisan bills to enhance cybersecurity assistance to K-12 educational institutions, bolster cybersecurity for state and local governments, strengthen the federal cybersecurity workforce, and help secure federal information technology supply chains have also been signed into law.
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