WASHINGTON–The credit union trade groups have joined with two bank trade groups to urge the Senate to move forward with S. 754, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA).
In March, the bill was approved on a near-unanimous and bipartisan basis by the Select Committee on Intelligence. The trade groups said that CISA would be a “strong step towards improving our defenses against cyber threats…We urge the Senate to take up legislation to establish a strong, but scalable, national data security standard to safeguard sensitive and personal consumer data from cyber criminals, such as the one proposed by Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) in the Data Security Act of 2015 (S. 961).”
The group said that by outlining a security process that is adaptable to future changes in technology, the Data Security Act would enable businesses of all sizes and complexity to better protect consumers from harm. A “vague ‘reasonableness’ standard as proposed by some falls short in providing businesses needed guidance and fails to provide much-needed protections to consumers,” said the groups. “Importantly, S. 961 also recognizes that it is not productive to duplicate data protection and consumer notice requirements that are already in place for financial institutions.”
In addition to NAFCU and CUNA, the letter was signed by the Consumer Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America.