Dayton Reporter

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence recently conducted a closed briefing to assess the effectiveness of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 2015). This review comes as the act approaches its reauthorization deadline in September 2025. The legislation was initially designed to enhance collaboration between federal, state, local, and private sectors in sharing cyber threat information to bolster U.S. cybersecurity.

During the briefing, representatives from key agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), National Security Agency (NSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Department of Justice (DOJ) provided insights into the statute's significance and offered recommendations for its renewal.

Chairman Crawford highlighted both progress and challenges: “While significant strides have been made to improve and strengthen cyber threat information sharing since the law’s implementation, our adversaries have also rapidly advanced their cyber espionage and attack capabilities to target U.S. government and private sector networks.” He emphasized the need for ongoing oversight to ensure effective real-time sharing of cyber threat indicators with various partners.

Ranking Member Himes stressed the importance of efficient information exchange: “As the United States adapts to defend against increasingly sophisticated actors, we must ensure that cyber threat information is shared as efficiently as possible across private and public entities." He described the briefing as a crucial step towards understanding how best to proceed with reauthorizing CISA 2015 in a bipartisan manner.

The committee intends to conduct further briefings and hearings to evaluate whether CISA 2015 has fulfilled its legislative objectives.