VIDEO: Peters Again Urges Senate to Extend Critical Cybersecurity Protections Before They Expire

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, renewed his call for the Senate to immediately pass a clean, long-term extension of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act before the law is set to expire. Peters raised concerns about how the expiration of these protections will make our nation more vulnerable to cyberattacks from cybercriminals and foreign adversaries, and called on his colleagues to pass his bipartisan bill that would extend the law for another 10 years."If we don't extend these critical authorities, we will lose one of our most effective defenses against cyber-attacks - as our adversaries' attacks continue to grow more aggressive and more sophisticated," said Senator Peters. "If this law expires, it will be harder to protect businesses and critical infrastructure against cyberattacks, and cybercriminals and our adversaries will be emboldened to continue trying to breach our defenses.

Peters continued: "It's time to pass this bill today. Otherwise, we will leave our networks, our businesses, and our economy exposed, vulnerable and defenseless."

Watch Senator Peters' full statement here.

In April, Peters and U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the cybersecurity law for another ten years. Officials from the Trump Administration and more than 100 companies and industry stakeholders support extending these cybersecurity protections for 10 more years, including the Business Roundtable, the Business Software Alliance, the Banking Policy Institute, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Information Technology Industry Council.

Since it was first enacted, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 has been instrumental in fostering voluntary information sharing and collaboration between industry leaders and federal agencies, enabling the identification and mitigation of cybersecurity threats. Information sharing about security flaws also helps prevent significant breaches and helps support victims of attacks as they recover.

In his role on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peters has led efforts to ensure our nation is better prepared to defend against cyberattacks. His historic, bipartisan provision to require critical infrastructure owners and operators to report if they experience a substantial cyberattack or if they make a ransomware payment was signed into law. Peters' bipartisan bills to enhance cybersecurity assistance to K-12 educational institutions, bolster cybersecurity for state and local governments, strengthen the federal cybersecurity workforce, and help secure federal information technology supply chains have also been signed into law.

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