Peters, Portman Working on Cyber Reporting Bill

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., hopes soon to introduce legislation with ranking member Rob Portman, R-Ohio, that would require critical infrastructure owners and operators to report “significant” cyberattacks, Peters said during a hearing Thursday. The bill would require entities to report incidents to the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Accountability on who’s in charge will be an important element, said Portman: “Cyber reporting legislation might better inform that strategy. I think we can get that right. I think we can get a bipartisan product.” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said previously he and co-authors of his own legislation were in conversations with Peters and Portman (see 2108020033). It’s long past time to pass cyber incident reporting legislation, testified CISA Director Jen Easterly: The bill would allow CISA to aid victims directly and share information across sectors. The information would be “profoundly useful” for determining strategy and informing investments, said National Cyber Director Chris Inglis. OMB Federal Chief Information Security Officer Christopher DeRusha said it’s important to have a universal standard rather than a state patchwork.