Financial industry rallies behind controversial cyber bill

A group of prominent financial industry trade associations threw their support behind controversial cybersecurity legislation on Thursday.

“On behalf of our members, we are writing today to urge you to support the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) and … bring this important legislation to the Senate floor as soon as possible,” the coalition wrote in a letter to senators.

“CISA is a bipartisan bill approved earlier this year on a near-unanimous basis by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and is strongly supported by the financial services sector.”

{mosads}Co-sponsors Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) last week indicated that they expect the bill to see floor time when the Senate returns from its week-long recess on Monday.

“It looks like it’s going to be on the floor when we come back,” Feinstein told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on Oct. 6.

The bill, which is meant to boost the exchange of cyber-threat data between private companies and the government, has been stalled repeatedly by a busy legislative calendar and debate over privacy concerns.

Critics say the bill will funnel personal information to a government that has shown it is incapable of safeguarding it.

Privacy groups and a set lawmakers that includes Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a Democratic presidential candidate, have spoken out fiercely against the legislation.

Supporters say the bill is an important step forward in slowing cyberattacks by coordinating threat-sharing efforts between federal agencies and private industry.

“Today, the laws related to sharing information about cyber threats are unclear, confusing and uncoordinated,” the financial groups wrote Thursday. “Enactment of CISA would be a significant step forward toward clarifying what is permissible and what is not and ensuring that the government and the private sector work more closely together to mitigate cyber threats.”

The coalition urged movement even in the face of its concerns about some of 21 previously negotiated amendments slated for floor debate.

“While we do not support some of these amendments, and in fact will urge the defeat of amendments that would undermine CISA, we support moving the process forward to ensure that different points of view will be considered,” the groups wrote.

In recent weeks, lawmakers have reportedly been working to package some amendments to reduce floor debate time.

Signees of the letter included the American Bankers Association, the American Insurance Association and the Financial Services Roundtable.