EINSTEIN Act of 2015

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``EINSTEIN Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF FEDERAL CIVILIAN INFORMATION SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of title II of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 230. AVAILABLE PROTECTION OF FEDERAL CIVILIAN INFORMATION 
              SYSTEMS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall deploy, operate, and 
maintain, to make available for use by any Federal agency, with or 
without reimbursement, capabilities to protect Federal agency 
information and Federal civilian information systems, including 
technologies to diagnose, detect, prevent, and mitigate against 
cybersecurity risks involving Federal agency information or Federal 
civilian information systems.
    ``(b) Activities.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary 
may--
            ``(1) access, and Federal agency heads may disclose to the 
        Secretary or a private entity providing assistance to the 
        Secretary under paragraph (2), information traveling to or from 
        or stored on a Federal civilian information system, regardless 
        of from where the Secretary or a private entity providing 
        assistance to the Secretary under paragraph (2) accesses such 
        information, notwithstanding any other provision of law that 
        would otherwise restrict or prevent Federal agency heads from 
        disclosing such information to the Secretary or a private 
        entity providing assistance to the Secretary under paragraph 
        (2);
            ``(2) enter into contracts or other agreements, or 
        otherwise request and obtain the assistance of, private 
        entities to deploy, operate, and maintain technologies in 
        accordance with subsection (a); and
            ``(3) retain, use, and disclose information obtained 
        through the conduct of activities authorized under this section 
        only to protect Federal agency information and Federal civilian 
        information systems from cybersecurity risks or in furtherance 
        of the national cybersecurity and communications integration 
        center's authority under the second section 226, or, with the 
        approval of the Attorney General and if disclosure of such 
        information is not otherwise prohibited by law, to law 
        enforcement only to investigate, prosecute, disrupt, or 
        otherwise respond to--
                    ``(A) a violation of section 1030 of title 18, 
                United States Code;
                    ``(B) an imminent threat of death or serious bodily 
                harm;
                    ``(C) a serious threat to a minor, including sexual 
                exploitation or threats to physical safety; or
                    ``(D) an attempt, or conspiracy, to commit an 
                offense described in any of subparagraphs (A) through 
                (C).
    ``(c) Conditions.--Contracts or other agreements under subsection 
(b)(2) shall include appropriate provisions barring--
            ``(1) the disclosure of information to any entity other 
        than the Department or a Federal agency disclosing information 
        in accordance with subsection (b)(1) that can be used to 
        identify specific persons and is reasonably believed to be 
        unrelated to a cybersecurity risk; and
            ``(2) the use of any information to which such private 
        entity gains access in accordance with this section for any 
        purpose other than to protect Federal agency information and 
        Federal civilian information systems against cybersecurity 
        risks or to administer any such contract or other agreement.
    ``(d) Limitation.--No cause of action shall lie in any court 
against a private entity for assistance provided to the Secretary in 
accordance with this section and a contract or agreement under 
subsection (b)(2).
    ``(e) Definition.--The term `cybersecurity risk' has the meaning 
given such term in the second section 226 (relating to the national 
cybersecurity and communications integration center).''.
    (b) Definitions.--Paragraphs (1) and (2) of the second section 226 
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 148; relating to the 
national cybersecurity and communications integration center) are 
amended to read as follows:
            ``(1)(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term 
        `cybersecurity risk' means threats to and vulnerabilities of 
        information or information systems and any related consequences 
        caused by or resulting from unauthorized access, use, 
        disclosure, degradation, disruption, modification, or 
        destruction of such information or information systems, 
        including such related consequences caused by an act of 
        terrorism; and
            ``(B) such term does not include any action that solely 
        involves a violation of a consumer term of service or a 
        consumer licensing agreement;
            ``(2) the term `incident' means an occurrence that actually 
        or imminently jeopardizes, without lawful authority, the 
        integrity, confidentiality, or availability of information on 
        an information system, or actually or imminently jeopardizes, 
        without lawful authority, an information system;''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the following new 
item:

``Sec. 230. Available protection of Federal civilian information 
                            systems.''.

Summary: EINSTEIN Act of 2015 Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deploy, operate, and maintain capabilities to protect federal agency information and federal civilian information systems, including technologies to continuously diagnose, detect, prevent, and mitigate against cybersecurity risks involving such information or systems. Authorizes the DHS Secretary to access, and allows federal agency heads to disclose to the Secretary, information traveling to or from or stored on such systems, regardless of from where the Secretary accesses such information, notwithstanding any law that would otherwise restrict or prevent such disclosures. Authorizes the Secretary to retain, use, and disclose information obtained through such activities only to protect federal agency information and federal civilian information systems from cybersecurity risks or in furtherance of the national cybersecurity and communications integration center's (NCCIC's) authority, or, with DOJ approval and if disclosure of such information is not otherwise prohibited by law, to law enforcement only to investigate, prosecute, disrupt, or otherwise respond to: criminal computer fraud, an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. A serious threat to a minor, including sexual exploitation or threats to physical safety. Or an attempt or conspiracy to commit any of such offenses. Provides liability protections to private entities authorized to assist the Secretary for such purposes. Redefines for purposes of the NCCIC's cybersecurity functions: (1) quot, cybersecurity riskquot. To exclude actions that solely involve a violation of a consumer term of service or a consumer licensing agreement, and (2) quot, incidentquot. To include an occurrence that actually or imminently jeopardizes, without lawful authority, an information system, thereby replacing a standard that includes occurrences that constitute a violation or imminent threat of violation of law, security policies, security procedures, or acceptable use policies.