Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and ranking member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) may soon offer their own version of the “Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act” (CISPA), a controversial House-approved measure that would boost cybersecurity information sharing between the government and private entities.
The Feinstein-Chambliss version of CISPA is unlikely to dramatically differ from the House-approved bill, which would establish procedures for the Director of National Intelligence to share sensitive cyber threat information with private businesses and public utility operators – including operators of water and wastewater utilities – that hold appropriate security clearances. The House bill would also offer liability protections for authorized recipients of cyber threat data that act based on the information, and does not include any new rules or regulations for critical infrastructure owners and operators.
The House passed its version of CISPA in April as H.R. 624, but did so over the strong objections of civil liberties advocates who fear it could jeopardize the privacy of individual Internet users. The White House went on to issue a veto threat against the bill in part because of these concerns, and Senate Democratic leaders have shown no intention of taking up the House bill. Given these circumstances, the chances of the Feinstein-Chambliss bill moving through the Senate would appear remote.