Wired slams Senate’s cyber threat-sharing bill

An influential technology publication suggested that the Senate’s cyber threat-sharing measure will boost government surveillance while failing to prevent cyberattacks.

Wired magazine gave the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) an “F for security, but an A+ for spying” in a critical 1,350-word piece published Friday.

{mosads}Focused on objections to the bill from privacy advocates, the story highlights the controversy surrounding CISA in some quarters of the tech community.

The legislation passed the Senate Intelligence Committee last week on a vote of 14-1. It has support from major corporations, business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, and some government officials. 

Backers argue that greater threat-sharing between the government and the private sector will boost U.S. cyber defenses at a time of increasingly sophisticated attacks online. Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) called the bill’s passage through committee “historic.”

But influential voices in the privacy world are raising a variety of concerns about CISA.

In its current form, they argue, the bill would trump other privacy laws; lead to consumer information being passed to the government; and undermine the Fourth Amendment by widening the types of data that companies share with law enforcement for use in investigations.

Wired also raised the possibility that CISA will do little to prevent cyberattacks, in part because purported threat information that is shared with the government could be full of false alarms.

“For those who value security over privacy, CISA’s surveillance compromises might seem acceptable. But questions persist about whether CISA would even do much to improve security,” the story states.

Though advocates disagree, Intelligence Committee leaders argue that 12 amendments attached to the bill in markup address these issues. Supporters also emphasize that threat-sharing is voluntary under the bill, and that no government agency is specifically empowered to collect more information.

Senate leaders are hoping to bring CISA up for a floor vote by mid-April. As of Friday morning, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) had not yet weighed in on the final draft, and neither had the White House.