Cybersecurity Legislation is Going to Pass, So What?

Editor’s Note: The author of this post is Co-Head of Cyber Security at Zeichner, Ellman & Krause and Executive Managing Partner of Law & Forensics LLC.

By Daniel Garrie, Executive Managing Partner of Law & Forensics

In a 307-116 vote, the House approved H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act, which the House Intelligence Committee had advanced to the full chamber following a March 26 voice vote. The bill allows organizations and companies, irrespective of size, to more readily address cyber security issues in a meaningful fashion thru the exchange of useful information about cyber threats between the government and private industry.

The legislation provides liability protections to companies acting in good faith that share cyber threat indicator data with federal agencies, such as DHS or the Department of Treasury. It is hard to say if the bill will create a “moral hazard,” but it is an issue to consider. Only time will tell precisely how companies and their shareholders and customers react to this shift.

The legislation also allows the federal government to share timely and critical data on Americans between agencies, and use it for a broad range of criminal investigations and surveillance efforts. The important take away here is that Congress is acting and that action will have impacts, positive and negative, on consumers and companies, the ultimate result of which is unknowable at this time.

What is already certain, however, is that the anticipated increase in information sharing will impact consumers, and likely introduce a host of additional legal issues that any emerging area of the law often presents. It also foreshadows a larger conversation around privacy rights and where they are perceived within the fabric of America.