WASHINGTON (10/19/15)--CUNA joined 13 other trade organizations last week to express support for the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S. 754). The bill, which would allow the private sector and government agencies to share information on cyberthreats, was approved by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence earlier this year.

“CISA would enhance our ability to protect the sensitive data of hundreds of millions of Americans,” reads the letter, which was sent to members of the Senate. “It is critical that Cybersecurity information sharing legislation be enacted before the next crisis, not after.”

The ability to share information between government agencies and the private sector is critically important, the organizations believe, as understanding risks is the first step to defend networks and infrastructures from malicious activities.

“Enactment of CISA would be a significant step forward toward clarifying what is permissible and what is not and ensuring that the government and the private sector work more closely together to mitigate cyber threats,” the letter reads. “CISA would help to establish clear lines of communication between the private sector and various government agencies responsible for Cybersecurity and would establish a more open dialogue about emerging, imminent, and high risk cyber threats.”

CUNA strongly supports the Data Protection Act of 2015 (S. 961/H.R. 2205) , which would establish a national data security standard for entities that handle sensitive consumer data.

 The bill contains principles CUNA and its partner organizations have said need to be part of any cybersecurity legislation.