US Senate passes Cyber Security Legislation

The United States Senate passed a bill to improve cyber security by encouraging private companies and the government to share information about hacking threats.

• Despite of privacy and transparency concerns from companies like Apple and Yelp, Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) passed by a vote of74-21.

Key points of CISA

• No new mandatory information sharing requirements as it creates a voluntary information sharing program run by the federal government
• Duty to protect information and remove certain personal information under section 104(d).
• CISA provides a number of liability protections to entities regardless of whether they choose to share information with the federal government under section 106 (a), (b) & (c)
• As per Section 104(b) an entity can take defensive measures to protect the rights or property of the entity.