On Tuesday, September 30, 2025, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA 2015) officially expired. This came after its 10-year effective period lapsed without renewal from Congress and before a government shutdown took effect the very next day.
At first glance, this might seem like a quiet policy sunset. But did you know that the expiry of this legislation signifies a major shift in the United States’ cybersecurity posture and carries serious implications for cybersecurity professionals and businesses?
In this blog post, we will define what CISA 2015 was, the consequences of its expiry, and what your organization should do. We’ll also discuss how Techmedics can help you stay ahead of cyberthreats.
Enacted in December 2015, CISA 2015’s main purpose was to encourage the sharing of cyberthreat information between the private sector and the government. It consisted of several core pillars, including:
Although CISA 2015 has lapsed, the federal agency Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) continues to operate. Currently, it leads efforts to defend critical infrastructure and federal networks from cyberattacks and facilitates real-time exchange of threat indicators between the private sector and the government.
If CISA 2015 is not reenacted or similar protections are not enforced by the US government, it could result in the following:
CISA 2015 enabled private companies, critical infrastructure operators, and government agencies to operate within an interconnected defense network against cyberthreats. With its expiration, organizations were left to respond to cyber incidents on their own, resulting in fragmented defenses.
This means that even if a business detects a security vulnerability, other organizations may remain unaware, allowing cybercriminals to exploit the flaw before it’s widely recognized.
This fragmentation also weakens national security coordination. Federal agencies lose visibility into private-sector incidents that could indicate bigger threat campaigns by nation-state or criminal groups. Consequently, private organizations lose access to federal security alerts derived from classified intelligence, creating information silos and amplifying vulnerabilities across the country.
CISA 2015 shielded companies from liability when they shared cyberthreat indicators or defensive measures with the federal government.
With the act lapsing, however, that protection is gone. So if a private company shares incident data that accidentally reveals sensitive client information, they could likely face lawsuits or regulatory scrutiny.
Without the legal protection that CISA 2015 provides, private companies may hesitate to share cybersecurity information with the government. Federal agencies, now operating without a data-sharing mandate, may experience delays in collecting or validating information.
Ultimately, this results in slower cyberthreat detection and response for both the government and private entities. In the real world, this means a ransomware attack or phishing campaign could remain undetected and unresolved for days or even weeks, instead of being contained in a few hours.
Many SMBs benefit from industry alerts and shared threat intelligence to reduce the risk of cyberattacks. Without these, they might experience the following:
The lack of centralized support that CISA 2015 normally provides forces SMBs to depend more on internal resources and measures to detect, assess, and respond to cyberthreats.
For instance, they may invest more in tools like firewalls and intrusion detection systems. They may also hire an internal team to monitor and resolve security issues. Not only is this operationally demanding, but it also costs organizations a significant amount of time and money. And for those with under-resourced IT teams, this can be particularly difficult, making them more vulnerable to data loss and downtime.
Under CISA 2015, SMBs benefited from programs like the Automated Indicator Sharing (AIS), which rapidly delivered cyberthreat information and alerts from federal agencies.
The law’s expiry, however, results in businesses losing liability protections and incentives for participating in AIS, making it harder for them to access threat intelligence and respond faster to security incidents.
A lack of threat warning leaves SMBs more vulnerable to sophisticated cyberattacks. For instance, phishing groups and ransomware gangs can target businesses that might be slower to detect malicious activity. This could result in more frequent data breaches, extended downtime, and costly recovery initiatives.
Now that you understand the security risks of CISA 2015’s expiry for businesses, what can you do to protect your IT environment from threats? Here are some things to consider:
Even without the safeguards that CISA 2015 once delivered, your business can improve threat detection and response by employing a layered security approach consisting of the following:
Your plan should include clear steps for detecting, containing, and recovering from cyberattacks. Make sure to involve not just your IT team, but also employees in every department to minimize downtime and confusion and ensure faster containment.
Despite the expiry of CISA 2015, your business can still participate in private-sector networks like Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs).
ISACs provide curated, actionable threat insights tailored to various industries and allow members to share incident reports and security best practices in a trusted environment. They also detect IT infrastructure anomalies across member organizations, enabling rapid identification of emerging threats and coordinated cyberattacks.
It’s never ideal for your business to wait for an attack to happen before securing its infrastructure. Instead, adopting a proactive security approach using established global standards is essential.
For instance, aligning your security processes with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF) helps ensure you have proper steps for threat detection, incident response, and recovery. By complying with ISO 27001, you can enforce access controls and formalize data-handling policies more efficiently.
As you can see, the expiration of CISA 2015 presents new cybersecurity challenges for SMBs. If you’re struggling to navigate these obstacles, why not partner with a reliable managed IT services provider like Techmedics? We help bridge the intelligence-sharing gap by offering the following:
We serve businesses of all sizes across major US cities, including Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Whether you run an architecture, engineering, insurance, legal, or entertainment company, we’ll always make sure to tailor our services to your needs and goals.
Don’t let CISA 2015’s expiration leave your business vulnerable to cyberthreats. Get a FREE consultation today with Techmedics.
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