Legislative Activity

House Homeland Security Committee to Mark-Up Cyber Information Sharing Bill

On Tuesday, the House Homeland Security Committee will mark up the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act, which will officially be introduced on Monday. The Committee has worked collaboratively with the private sector and stakeholders to develop the legislation for the last few weeks. . The bill would make the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the main agency in charge of facilitating cyber threat information sharing between the federal government and the private sector and would codify existing activities with cyber information sharing. It also includes liability protections for companies that share information with the federal government, which was a priority for Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS).

Cyber Week Scheduled in the House

The House has named April 21-23 as its annual “Cybersecurity Week” and plans to consider a number of cybersecurity bills during that week. It is likely that the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act and the House Intelligence Committee’s information sharing bill – the Protecting Cyber Networks Act (H.R. 1560) – will be part of the package of bills that will be considered on the House floor next week. House leadership has discussed the possibility of combining the two bills prior to moving them to the floor so they can be considered at the same time. While both bills cover information sharing issues, each focuses on its respective areas of committee jurisdiction, with House Homeland Security Committee bill focusing on DHS while the House Intelligence Committee focuses on the Intelligence Community. Additionally, it is also possible that the House will consider the House Energy and Commerce’s data breach notification and data security bill next week after it is likely to be marked up in the full committee at some point this week.

It is also possible that the Senate will consider the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s information sharing bill – the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA/S. 754) – on the Senate floor as early as this week or next week.

This Week’s Hearings:

• Tuesday, April 14: The House Homeland Security Committee will mark up the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act.

• Tuesday, April 14: The Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities will hold a hearing titled “Military Cyber Programs and Posture.”

• Wednesday, April 15: The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing titled “From Protection to Partnership: Funding the DHS Role in Cybersecurity.”

Regulatory Activity

NIST to Issue Draft Framework for Cyber-Physical Systems

Last week, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) held its second workshop for the Cyber-Physical Systems Public Working Group. The workshop allowed participants to review the framework of standards for cyber-physical systems which include the Internet of Things, Industrial Internet, Smart Grid or “smart” items such as smart cars, smart homes, smart buildings, etc. NIST plans to issue the framework for public comment in May or June and hopes to release the final framework in 2016.