Senators say U.S. government security and defense agencies should share what they learn about computer threats with private companies and citizens.
It would also set up the Department of Justice as a clearinghouse where companies could voluntarily share information about threats, to be shared with the government and other companies.
“Your personal data has come under increasing threat from a range of cyberattackers from sophisticated hackers and foreign criminals to agents of foreign powers,” Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, said.
Companies are now entrusted with massive amounts of data about every American, he said, pointing to recent security breaches at companies including Sony, JP Morgan and Target.
In many cases, credit card information was hacked, “leaving customers’ personal and financial information vulnerable,” he said in the Republican Party’s weekly address Saturday.
“Cybertheft costs hundreds of billions of dollars a year,” he said. “This threat is real.”
“The bill is 100 percent voluntary, no one is required to share information,” he said.
The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 is sponsored by Burr, with backing from Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
