Despite knowing that the government and the private sector are continuous targets for data breaches, the momentum of the proposed bill, Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, has stalled. This comes four months after we blogged about the various cyber security bills that have been introduced into Congress. However, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act has survived so far, which is a bill that creates incentives for companies to share details of their cyber attacks and data breaches.
There are struggles considering Congress has a lot of bills and there are concerns regarding the security and privacy issues of the data stored by the companies. Although the data is supposedly scrubbed, critics think that this may be an overreach to gain insight into corporate information and personal lives. To pass the bill, it will be crucial to define exactly what information will be gathered and under what circumstances the data will be used.
According to the Wall Street Journal, companies providing the information to the government would only be voluntary and not required of business or individual. There will still be a need for Congress to add their amendments to the bill’s current version. Although, the voluntary option may be more attractive to the public and private sector alike, the timeliness required to implement amendments and the fact that Congress will not return until September stalls the bill.
Additionally, upon the return of the Congress, there are other issues such as government funding and nuclear deals that will take importance over the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. Even though the bill originally had momentum, the act does not have a strict deadline, which can delay it into the 2016 session, if even passed at all.
Currently, companies can focus on what is within their control and it is important for companies to help safeguard its customer data. EVS offers a diverse selection of products that can assist companies all of sizes in protecting against fraudsters.
