Better Cybersecurity by Sharing?
Legislation urges businesses to collaborate on security issues. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two congressmembers have introduced a bill that aims to beef up the nation's cybersecurity efforts by carving out protections for businesses that share confidential information with government.
Republican Representative Tom Davis and Democratic Representative Tom Moran, both of Virginia, say U.S. businesses and government need to work together to boost computer security in the face of increasing attacks from hackers. Banks, power companies, and other vital industries could benefit from sharing information about cyberattacks and efforts to repel them, they say.
But businesses are often leery of sharing information about cyberattacks with the FBI and other government agencies, fearing that confidential information could be made public through the Freedom of Information Act or that close cooperation could lead to antitrust charges.
Davis and Moran's bill would seek to ease such concerns by forbidding the government from disclosing cybersecurity information to the public or using it in lawsuits against the company.
"The objective is to protect computer systems, and that objective right now is a higher priority than full public disclosure," Moran says.
The bill would also bar the government from charging companies with anticompetitive behavior if they worked together to beef up cybersecurity.
The bill uses a similar approach to a 1999 law that limited liability for the Year 2000 computer virus.
Varied Endorsements
Several prominent business groups voiced support for the bill.
"Businesses must be able to share information without fear of legal ramifications," says Rick Lane, director of electronic commerce for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Ari Schwartz, senior policy analyst at the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology, says he supports many aspects of the bill but that the Freedom of Information Act exemptions may not be necessary because trade secrets and matters of national security are already protected.
"They could in fact serve to impede the kind of sharing that could be the end goal to this program," Schwartz says.
Davis says the Government Reform Committee will hold hearings on the bill before the August recess, and he hopes to bring it to the House floor before the end of the year.
The two have been working with the Bush Administration as well, he says.
"We are hopeful to have their support on this," Davis says.
In the Senate, Utah Republican Robert Bennett says he plans to introduce a similar bill.
