CISPA cybersecurity bill gets veto threat from Obama
CISPA cybersecurity bill gets veto threat from Obama
By Olivier Knox | The Ticket.. .
The White House came out strongly Wednesday against a bipartisan but controversial House bill designed to protect the country's infrastructure from cyberattack, warning that President Barack Obama would veto if it passes in its current form over civil liberties concerns and other worries.
"The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 3523, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, in its current form," Obama's Office of Management and Budget said in a statement. "If H.R. 3523 were presented to the President, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill."
OMB said that the administration was "committed to increasing public-private sharing of information about cybersecurity threats" but said the process "must be conducted in a manner that preserves Americans' privacy, data confidentiality, and civil liberties and recognizes the civilian nature of cyberspace."
Morever, it said, the legislation "fails to provide authorities to ensure that the nation's core critical infrastructure is protected while repealing important provisions of electronic surveillance law without instituting corresponding privacy, confidentiality, and civil liberties safeguards." OMB specifically cautioned that, in its current form, the measure fails to set up "requirements for both industry and the government to minimize and protect personally identifiable information."
"Citizens have a right to know that corporations will be held legally accountable for failing to safeguard personal information adequately," OMB said, adding that the legislation "would inappropriately shield companies from any suits where a company's actions are based on cyber threat information identified, obtained, or shared under this bill, regardless of whether that action otherwise violated federal criminal law or results in damage or loss of life."
The bill's chief authors--House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and the panel's top Democrat, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger--unveiled a raft of amendments on Tuesday aimed at defusing the privacy concerns.
The two lawmakers issued a joint statement Wednesday saying that "the basis for the administration's view is mostly based on the lack of critical infrastructure regulation, something outside of our jurisdiction."
"We would also draw the White House's attention to the substantial package of privacy and civil liberties improvement announced yesterday which will be added to the bill on the floor," they said, stressing that key lawmakers guiding the measure to a vote in the House "have agreed to a package of amendments that address nearly every single one of the criticisms leveled by the administration, particularly those regarding privacy and civil liberties of Americans. Congress must lead on this critical issue and we hope the White House will join us."
CISPA cybersecurity bill gets veto threat from Obama | The Ticket - Yahoo! News
CISPA Passes over Obama Veto Threat
House approves cybersecurity bill over Obama veto threat
By Pete Kasperowicz - 04/26/12 06:32 PM ET
The House on Thursday approved controversial cybersecurity legislation that the Obama administration has threatened to veto.
Members approved the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection (CISPA) act, H.R. 3523, in a 248-168 vote that split both parties somewhat. The bill was supported by 42 Democrats, while 28 Republicans opposed it.
The House approved the bill after making a number of changes aimed at limiting the way the government could use the information that companies provide.
CISPA would make it easier for companies to share information with the government about the threats facing their networks. Supporters — Republicans and Democrats alike — said the proposal is a reasonable compromise between the need for privacy and security.
"The intelligence community has the ability to detect these cyber threats, these malicious codes and viruses, before they are able to attack our networks," said Intelligence Committee ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.). "But right now, federal law prohibits our intelligence community from sharing the classified cyber threat with the companies that will protect us that control the network, the AT&Ts, the Verizons, the Comcasts, those groups.
"We have the ability to give them the information to protect us, but yet we have to pass a law to do that."
The bill enjoyed strong bipartisan support before the administration issued a veto threat and sided with privacy advocates who argue the bill does not do enough to protect consumers' private information. The White House also wants regulatory mandates for critical infrastructure providers, which are not contained in CISPA.
Ruppersberger said earlier Thursday that Obama's veto threat of his bill was like a "kick in the solar plexus".
It also seemed to have the effect of peeling Democrats off the bill, as several Democrats took up Obama's arguments during floor debate.
"In an effort to foster information sharing, this bill would erode the privacy protections of every single American using the Internet," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). "It would create a Wild West of information sharing, where any certified business can share with any government agency, who can then use the information for any national security purpose and grant the business immunity from virtually any liability."
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) added that the bill is an "unprecedented, sweeping piece of legislation that would waive every single privacy law ever enacted in the name of cybersecurity."
Republicans did allow several amendments to be considered that narrowed the scope of the bill, including proposals from members of both parties. One from Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) would allow the government to use the information it collects only for five purposes, all related to protecting people and prosecuting crimes.
Others would prohibit the government from using certain electronic data as it works to fight cyber threats, narrow the definition of what information can be shared, and encourage the government to create procedures to protect privacy.
Even before those amendments, supporters argued that the bill has enough safeguards in it to ensure the privacy of consumer data.
"The bill includes significant safeguards to protect personal and private information," Rep. Rich Nugent (R-Fla.) said. "It significantly limits the federal government's use of that information that the private companies voluntarily provide, including the government's authority to search data."
The bill is one of four cybersecurity bills the House is expected to consider this week. The others are the Federal Information Security Amendments act (H.R. 4257), the Cybersecurity Enhancement act (H.R. 2096), and the Advancing America's Networking and Information Technology Research and Development act (H.R. 3834). House Republicans have put these three bills on the suspension calendar, a process usually reserved for non-controversial bills that will require them to pass by a two-thirds majority vote.
House approves cybersecurity bill over Obama veto threat - The Hill's Floor Action
How Did Your Representative Vote?
How They Voted
H.R. 3523: Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (On Passage of the Bill) -- GovTrack.us
H.R. 3523: Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (On Passage of the Bill)
Number:
House Vote #192 [primary source: house.gov]
Date:
Apr 26, 2012 (112th Congress)
Result:
Passed
Related Bill:
H.R. 3523: Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act
Introduced by Rep. Michael “Mike” Rogers [R-MI8] on November 30, 2011
Current Status: Reported by Committee
This was a vote to approve or reject a bill or resolution.
H.R. 3523: Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (On Passage of the Bill) -- GovTrack.us
House approves cybersecurity bill over Obama veto threat
House approves cybersecurity bill over Obama veto threat
By Pete Kasperowicz - 04/26/12 06:32 PM ET
The House on Thursday approved controversial cybersecurity legislation that the Obama administration has threatened to veto.
Members approved the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection (CISPA) act, H.R. 3523, in a 248-168 vote that split both parties somewhat. The bill was supported by 42 Democrats, while 28 Republicans opposed it.
The House approved the bill after making a number of changes aimed at limiting the way the government could use the information that companies provide.
CISPA would make it easier for companies to share information with the government about the threats facing their networks. Supporters — Republicans and Democrats alike — said the proposal is a reasonable compromise between the need for privacy and security.
"The intelligence community has the ability to detect these cyber threats, these malicious codes and viruses, before they are able to attack our networks," said Intelligence Committee ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.). "But right now, federal law prohibits our intelligence community from sharing the classified cyber threat with the companies that will protect us that control the network, the AT&Ts, the Verizons, the Comcasts, those groups.
"We have the ability to give them the information to protect us, but yet we have to pass a law to do that."
The bill enjoyed strong bipartisan support before the administration issued a veto threat and sided with privacy advocates who argue the bill does not do enough to protect consumers' private information. The White House also wants regulatory mandates for critical infrastructure providers, which are not contained in CISPA.
Ruppersberger said earlier Thursday that Obama's veto threat of his bill was like a "kick in the solar plexus".
It also seemed to have the effect of peeling Democrats off the bill, as several Democrats took up Obama's arguments during floor debate.
"In an effort to foster information sharing, this bill would erode the privacy protections of every single American using the Internet," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). "It would create a Wild West of information sharing, where any certified business can share with any government agency, who can then use the information for any national security purpose and grant the business immunity from virtually any liability."
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) added that the bill is an "unprecedented, sweeping piece of legislation that would waive every single privacy law ever enacted in the name of cybersecurity."
Republicans did allow several amendments to be considered that narrowed the scope of the bill, including proposals from members of both parties. One from Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) would allow the government to use the information it collects only for five purposes, all related to protecting people and prosecuting crimes.
Others would prohibit the government from using certain electronic data as it works to fight cyber threats, narrow the definition of what information can be shared, and encourage the government to create procedures to protect privacy.
Even before those amendments, supporters argued that the bill has enough safeguards in it to ensure the privacy of consumer data.
"The bill includes significant safeguards to protect personal and private information," Rep. Rich Nugent (R-Fla.) said. "It significantly limits the federal government's use of that information that the private companies voluntarily provide, including the government's authority to search data."
The bill is one of four cybersecurity bills the House is expected to consider this week. The others are the Federal Information Security Amendments act (H.R. 4257), the Cybersecurity Enhancement act (H.R. 2096), and the Advancing America's Networking and Information Technology Research and Development act (H.R. 3834). House Republicans have put these three bills on the suspension calendar, a process usually reserved for non-controversial bills that will require them to pass by a two-thirds majority vote.
House approves cybersecurity bill over Obama veto threat - The Hill's Floor Action
