Technology

Technology

The Big Story

Cyber law lapses with government shutdown

A law allowing private companies to share information about cybersecurity threats with the government expired Wednesday after Congress failed to reauthorize the legislation amid a wider shutdown fight.

© Getty Images

The Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015, which initially appeared poised to be extended as part of a temporary stopgap measure, lapsed as lawmakers failed to avert a shutdown — a pause that lawmakers and experts warn could restrict a key pipeline of threat intelligence.

“If we don’t extend these critical authorities, we will lose one of our most effective defenses against cyberattacks, as our adversaries’ attacks continue to grow more aggressive and more sophisticated,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) warned Tuesday on the Senate floor.

CISA provided companies with various protections for sharing cyber information. It shielded them from legal liability for monitoring information systems and providing cyberthreat indicators to the federal government.

It also protected companies from antitrust lawsuits for exchanging information or providing assistance related to countering cyberthreats.

“This law has protected our economy, it has protected our infrastructure, and it has protected our government for more than a decade,” Peters added.

“It allows private companies and federal agencies to share real-time threat information before attacks spread, before systems are compromised and before damage becomes irreversible,” he continued.

Peters and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced legislation in April to extend the law for another 10 years.

However, its reauthorization has become increasingly complicated as Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has sought changes to the measure, according to Axios.

Peters took aim at Paul on Tuesday, suggesting “there is only one person, one person standing in the way” of reauthorization efforts.

As the Tuesday deadline quickly approached with limited movement on a full reauthorization, a temporary extension was added to stopgap measure that sought to keep the government open through Nov. 21.

The continuing resolution ultimately passed the House on Sept. 19 but failed in the Senate as Democrats refused to support the GOP-led measure.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) lined up Senate votes Tuesday on competing Democratic and Republican proposals to fund the government, but both proposals failed, sending Washington into a shutdown.

Check out the full report at

© The Hill