ICBA, other groups call on Congress to renew cybersecurity law

ICBA and other groups called on Congress to extend the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act before its Sept. 30 expiration date, saying that failure to do so would impede public-private sector coordination during cyberattacks and weaken the nation’s cyber defenses.

Details: In a letter to Senate and House leaders, ICBA and the other groups said:

• The current cyber threat landscape highlights the need for consistent public-private collaboration—of which information sharing is a central component.

• Without the protections codified by CISA, businesses may be less willing to share cyber threat information for fear of legal exposure.

Background on CISA: The bipartisan CISA legislation—enacted after an Office of Personnel Management breach in 2015—provides private-sector entities with information and liability protections for sharing cyber threats. It also includes an antitrust exemption that provides similar protections for sharing between private companies.

Recent Action: The House Homeland Security Committee this week unanimously passed the Widespread Information Management for the Welfare of Infrastructure and Government Act (H.R. 5079), which includes an ICBA-supported provision to modernize and extend CISA.

Why It Matters to Community Bankers: CISA plays a critical role in strengthening public-private cybersecurity coordination and ensuring that community banks have timely access to actionable cyber threat information.

ICBA Advocacy: ICBA will continue engaging with Congress as lawmakers determine the best path forward to reauthorize CISA 2015 before it expires at the end of this month. ICBA recently:

• Submitted a quote in support of CISA that was featured in the press release of Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.).

• Urged Congress to reauthorize CISA, warning that failure to act could eliminate a valuable tool used to protect U.S. critical infrastructure sectors.

ICBA Resources: Cyber and data security resources for community bankers are available on the ICBA website.