IG Report: Policy, Technicalities Affecting Threat Information Sharing Among Federal Agencies

A United States intelligence community watchdog has identified policy guidance and technical concerns as factors plaguing federal agencies’ threat information-sharing strategies.

Released on Friday, a report by the Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community assessed how federal agencies share threat information and defensive measures according to a framework stemming from the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015. The report found that while agencies have improved in sharing vital data, several barriers still exist to rapid information sharing, CyberScoop reported.

The report named the departments of Commerce, Defense and Justice as some of the government entities with some hesitation in sharing threat information. It also disclosed that the issue affecting federal agencies extends to the private sector.

In June 2023, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly said the United States should learn from Ukraine’s information-sharing model, which allowed it to better counter cyberattacks from Russia.

Several business leaders have been advocating for greater collaboration between the public and private sectors. Ron Green, Mastercard executive vice president and chief security officer, called for lawmakers to initiate the collaboration, especially when dealing with cyberthreats.