SAVANNAH, GA. -- Imagine what would happen if an attacker broke into the network for the industrial control systems for New York City's elevators and boiler systems and decided to disrupt them, imperiling the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents relying on them. Think it could never happen? Think again.

On the face of it, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) that the U.S. House of Representatives just passed seems to address the long-held notion that encouraging private and public sector concerns to share security information will improve our general security.

Cybercriminals have already figured out how to hack into enterprise infrastructure, and the critical infrastructure that controls our nation's supply of water, gas, oil and electricity just might be next.

Security issues are exerting a ton of pressure and monetary concerns on the executives in charge of keeping corporate networks and assets safe.

Ask federal CIOs what keeps them up at night, and you'll hear an earful. From cybersecurity and governance policy to modernization initiatives and adjusting to tightening budget constraints, CIOs in the federal government have their hands full, according to a new study from the advocacy organization TechAmerica and the consulting firm Grant Thornton.

The moment is a profound one.