Cybersecurity Information Sharing Governance Structures: An Ecosystem of Diversity, Trust, and Tradeoffs

Abstract: In recent years the cybersecurity policy debate in Washington has been dominated by calls for greater information sharing within the private sector, and between the private sector and the federal government. The passage of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) (signed into law under the Cybersecurity Act of 2015) underscored federal efforts to collect information from the private sector, and assuaged some concerns regarding private sector liability in sharing activities. However, the law lacked specificity on how continued federal efforts would work with existing information sharing networks, and failed to address other challenges associated with sharing including trust building, privacy and propriety interests, reciprocation, and quality control. This paper aims to bring granularity to implementations of information sharing initiatives by creating a taxonomy of the governance and policy models within each of these organizations. The research shows how this diverse ecosystem of sharing models work together and separately, and the impact governance and policy have on key components critical to sharing infrastructure.