Washington—Senator Feinstein released the following statement today regarding the agreement to include cybersecurity information sharing legislation in the omnibus funding bill:

“I’m pleased the cybersecurity information sharing bill is in the omnibus funding bill we’ll be voting on later this week. This is an important first step to fight back against dangerous cyber attacks.

“The bill encourages the voluntary sharing of cyber-threat information, both company-to-company sharing as well as between companies and the government. This type of information sharing—with strict safeguards for private information—is key to countering cyber attacks.

“The agreement in the omnibus maintains Senate language on use of a Department of Homeland Security portal to share information. It also maintains liability protections for companies, limited to the actions authorized in the bill. And it restricts the government’s use of cyber information to cybersecurity purposes and specific instances of major harm to people or the economy. The agreement incorporates the Senate bill’s robust privacy protections.

“In short, this is a strong bill that takes an important first step to address a significant drain on our economy and threat to our national security. I’m glad we finally reached this agreement after years of work and I look forward to seeing it signed into law soon.”

###