Privacy Group Calls for Changes in CISPA Cyberthreat Sharing Bill

IDG News Service (Washington, D.C., Bureau) — U.S. lawmakers need to make significant changes to a controversial cyberthreat information sharing bill because the legislation could be used to give federal intelligence agencies backdoor wiretapping powers, the Center for Democracy and Technology said.

A markup to amend and send the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives may happen as soon as April 10, and the House Intelligence Committee could debate the bill behind closed doors, CDT staffers said Wednesday. About 30 groups, including CDT, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, are calling on the committee to hold an open markup of the bill.