Schwartz is vice president and chief operating officer of the public interest group Center for Democracy and Technology, which has on its site, at eprivacyact.org, a wiki in which cybersecurity professionals are proposing language on how the 35-year-old law should be upgraded. Schwartz hopes to send lawmakers CDT's final draft by the end of June, so legislation could be introduced by Independence Day.

The law has not kept up with technology, such as data mining. Also, Congress enacted the original act years before anyone even heard of the Internet technology that easily makes sharing of information, which proves problematic.

Schwartz spoke with Information Security Media Group's Eric Chabrow about the changes he sees the Privacy Act needs and how the wiki works and who is using it.