Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA)

What Does Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA) Mean?

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is pending legislation that passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, April 26, 2012. The vote was 248 in favor and 168 against the bill.

Introduced by U.S. representatives Michael Rogers (R-MI) and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) on November 30, 2011, 112 cosponsors backed CISPA in the House. On December 1st, the bill was reported out of committee with a bipartisan 17-1 vote. The Senate is set to debate the bill in May 2012.

CISPA amends the National Security Act of 1947 with provisions for detecting and sharing information and intelligence about cybercrime and cyber threats. The bill is geared toward facilitating communication between the government and private sector, including tech companies.

CISPA is also known as H.R. 3523, the Cybersecurity Bill, and the Rogers-Ruppersberger Cybersecurity Bill.

Techopedia Explains Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA)

CISPA is supported by a broad coalition of technology giants, including Facebook, Google and the Internet Security Alliance (ISA). Opponents include Demand Progress, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). On April 21st, hacking group Anonymous initiated a 24-hour tweet bomb to raise CISPA awareness.

In the first weeks of April, a provision was added to narrow CISPA's definition of intellectual property (IP), clarifying the bill's purpose, which is the prevention of and defense against cyber hacking and threats from outside the U.S.

CISPA was introduced in the wake of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) - each tabled in January 2012 due to widespread opposition.