The Latest Info Sharing Legislation: 3 Things IT Vendors Should Know

by DOD Manager, Lloyd McCoy Jr.

Earlier this month President Obama enacted a $1.1 trillion spending bill, preventing a 2015 government shutdown and increasing funding for most agencies in FY16. This spending bill combines what would have been a dozen pieces of legislation funding the government, into one all-encompassing law. As is often the case, this massive spending bill came with riders — none as impactful as cyber information sharing legislation — which is based on drafts of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be at the forefront of gathering and distributing cyber threat information with industry as well as leading the establishment of information sharing organizations.

Here are three things you should know about the latest information sharing legislation:

1. DHS and other government agencies will need industry support to identify the best tools to document, store, disseminate, and sanitize cyber threat information. Much attention and enforcement will be given to sanitization as there are several clauses in the legislation aimed at protecting personal and confidential data from being leaked.

2. It’s associated with the cyber information sharing legislation which we assess will further help insulate cybersecurity from funding cuts in the foreseeable future.

3. The legislation includes incentives such as providing liability protection for industry partners sharing information, while giving them mandates to boost detection and response efforts as well as access to cyber threat information. The goal is to strengthen government and industry’s ability to address existing and emerging cyber threats.

We will continue examining the spending bill and unveiling additional insights of relevant and actionable intelligence, empowering you with the information you need to grow your government sales.

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