OREANDA-NEWS. On December 18, President Obama signed legislation to encourage businesses to share cyberthreat information with the federal government. The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) is part of the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. CISA will establish a process for the government to share cyberthreat information with businesses that voluntarily agree to participate in the program.

The data shared as part of the CISA will go to the Department of Homeland Security, which will then pass the information to other federal agencies, including the departments of Commerce, Defense (which oversees the CIA), Energy, Justice (the FBI), Treasury (which oversees the IRS), and the office of the director of national intelligence (which oversees the NSA). In return, the companies that participate will be shielded from regulatory action related to the information they share.