Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem told Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs members today that she supports reauthorizing legislation that encourages industry to share cyber threat information with the Federal government, citing concerns with agencies’ ability to address cyber threats absent that kind of cooperation.
During a hearing held May 20 to discuss the fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget for DHS, Noem said the Trump administration is “doubling down” on its efforts to build partnerships between industry and the Federal government – particularly with the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA) – and hinted toward a greater reliance on industry to support national cybersecurity efforts.
“One of the biggest, alarming things … was that we still don’t necessarily know how to stop the next Salt Typhoon, Volt Typhoon – and private industry can help us with that,” Noem said in response to a question from Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who questioned what protections may be lost with the Trump administration’s proposed 17 percent cut to CISA’s current funding levels.
“With their knowledge, they see things that we don’t and that partnership could be strong and [would] make sure that we’re not just spending more dollars with no means to an end – that we actually have an end … with a more secure United States of America,” she continued.
The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 15) incentivizes industry to share cyber threat indicators with the Federal government and private sector partners while providing liability partners. But the law is set to sunset in September without further congressional action.
Recently, the legislation has been receiving bipartisan support from lawmakers and industry alike who warned that a lapse of the law would harm the nation’s cybersecurity posture.
“[The Trump administration] does endorse it for 10 more years, which I think is a is a long enough time frame for us to really make sure that we have this ability we need in this area to create those kind of partnerships … with private industry,” said Noem about reauthorizing CISA 15.
Noem also told lawmakers that she plans to work with them to ensure that liability protections offered to the private sector are in place to encourage more information sharing – a suggestion that has been floated by some by industry to strengthen the legal protections afforded to companies and organizations.
Sens. Peters and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., introduced the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Extension Act last month, which would extend the existing act to 2035.