Norma Krayem is a senior policy advisor in Holland & Knight's Washington D.C. office

Conducts CISA Implementation Progress and Assessment of DHS-DOJ Guidance; Senate Creates New Cybersecurity Caucus

On June 15, 2016, the House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on the status of implementation of the new cyber information-sharing law from the vantage point of the private sector. Chairman McCaul (R-TX) and Chairman Ratcliffe (R-TX) presided over the hearing to "examine industry perspectives and the recommended path forward for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in their implementation of the Cybersecurity Act of 2015" along with "...the possibilities for future growth and improvement in the DHS cyber mission." Witnesses represented the spectrum of the private sector including financial services, communications, information technology and broad-based private sector issues, including Mr. Mark Clancy, CEO of Soltra; Mr. Matthew J. Eggers, Executive Director Cybersecurity Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Robert H. Mayer, Vice President, United States Telecom Association; Mr. Mordecai Rosen, General Manager, Security Business Unit, CA Technologies and Ms. Ola Sage, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, e-management. The morning of the hearing, DHS-Department of Justice (DOJ) issued its final guidance on Automated Indicator Sharing (AIS), a core component of the CISA law. The key update included clarification that CISA includes protections for private-to-private sharing as well as for sharing directly through the DHS portal.

On June 14, 2016, Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) announced the creation of a new Cybersecurity Caucus. Senator Warner has been actively working with Chairman McCaul to introduce legislation to create a National Commission on Security and Technology Challenges. Senator Gardner is the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy and is the co-author of a recently passed law, the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2015, focusing a number of issues, including cybersecurity concerns related to North Korea. The timing coincides with a recent announcement from NATO that cybersecurity is its own operational domain, which is part of the NATO collective defense. The House has had a Cybersecurity Caucus for some time, which is co-chaired by Congressman Langevin (D-RI) and Chairman McCaul (R-TX.)  

On June 20, 2016, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee continued the focus with a Field Hearing on "Federal Efforts to Improve Cybersecurity."

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