The road ahead for cybersecurity

[Commentary] What is the future of cybersecurity policy? How do we maintain the innovative Internet ecosystem, protect consumer privacy, and ensure national security?

The Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy took its first steps towards answering those questions with its conference at AEI: “After Snowden: The Road Ahead for Cybersecurity.”

Two key steps to lead us down the right path emerged from our conference: 1) we need more effective public-private partnerships with freer opportunities for sharing information and 2) the government needs to educate the public about cyber threats.

Achieving these goals will require rapid, legislative action. The success of any cybersecurity policy will hinge on the effectiveness of the relationships between government and industry and the open exchange of information between the two -- as well as both inter- and intra-agency communication. Any effective cybersecurity policy must entail legislation, such as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which Chairman Rogers and his ranking member, Rep Dutch Ruppersberger (D-CA) have championed.

As General Keith Alexander (ret) explained, legislation should ensure that companies are able to share information with each other and with the government, while protected from liability. The challenge will be identifying the limits on that liability, on the extent of corporate responsibility, and on government engagement.

[Tews is the Chief Policy Officer at 463 Communications; Cunningham is a Research Assistant at the Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy]