Chamber of Commerce may score cyber vote

The Chamber of Commerce is telling senators it might score them based on how they vote for a cybersecurity bill that could be offered Friday as an amendment to the defense authorization bill.

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) — meant to boost the exchange of data between companies and the government — has been a top legislative priority for the Chamber the past few years, as cyberattacks increasingly hammer businesses.

{mosads}“Congressional action on cybersecurity information-sharing legislation cannot come quickly enough,” the organization, which represents more than 3 million businesses, said in a letter sent late Wednesday to all senators.

The repeated breaches have cost companies hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and clean-up costs, driving the business community to look for legislative solutions.

The Chamber has argued that the government and private sector are hampering cybersecurity efforts by not swapping more data about threats. It says companies are hesitant to share sensitive information with the government, fearing shareholder lawsuits or government regulatory action.

CISA would shield companies from legal liability when sharing hacking data with the government.

“Positive side effects of enacting cyber information-sharing legislation include strengthening the security of personal information that is maintained on company systems and increasing costs on nefarious actors,” the Chamber said.

Privacy advocates oppose the bill, arguing it simply shuttles more personal data to intelligence agencies.

The Chamber said it believes CISA includes appropriate privacy safeguards to protect individuals’ civil liberties.