Rep McCaul’s cybersecurity information sharing center: If you build it, will they come?

[Commentary] The House of Representatives placed four cybersecurity bills -- all pieces of a larger cybersecurity legislative puzzle -- on the House suspension calendar.

The core bill, sponsored by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX), would establish the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, a coordination point for civil information sharing between sector-specific coordination groups and federal, state, and local government agencies. Should the bill pass, will its provisions be enough to bring cybersecurity to the top of the agenda in corporate America?

Chairman McCaul’s effort establishes a baseline for the importance of cooperating and coordinating the efforts of owners and operators of critical infrastructure. Cross-sector facilitation is needed to get to the next step in managing cybersecurity. Similar to the creation of the baseline organization of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention almost 60 years ago, cybersecurity information sharing could create benefits that would prevent and minimize incidents that affect multiple networks.

Creating the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center would be the first major step towards creating such a system of prevention, preparation, and planning, and would likely be one that we would all benefit from.

[Tews is the Chief Policy Officer at 463 Communications]