Colonial pipeline attack increases bipartisan urgency to reform cyberattack reporting laws

There was already a bipartisan effort in Congress to craft legislation that would require certain companies, particularly those that operate critical infrastructure, to report cyberattacks,

and the recent ransomware strike against the Colonial Pipeline has increased the urgency to get things done, _Politico_ reports. "You couldn't have a better reason" for adding

a mandate than the attacks on Colonial and SolarWinds, which took place last year, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told _Politico__._ He's working alongside Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who

said requiring companies like Colonial to alert the government of an attack is just "the tip of the iceberg of what we need to do." Private companies have bristled at the idea of

voluntarily sharing their data with the government for fear of leaks, _Politico_ notes, but as the risk of cyberattacks increases, a mandate could become harder and harder to avoid. Until

something is in place, the U.S. government will remain "completely blind to what is happening," Brandon Wales, the acting director of the Department of Homeland Security's

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters earlier this week, per _Politico__._ "That just weakens our overall cyber posture across our entire country."

SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP FOR THE WEEK'S FREE NEWSLETTERS

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter,

get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. Warner said the legislation would provide a "public-private forum, with appropriate immunity and confidentiality." Read

more at _Politico._ Explore More Speed Reads Cyber Crime