Bipartisan Policy Center task force calls for improved information-sharing

Congress needs to pass legislation that encourages industry to share information about cyber threats spotted on their computer networks with the government, the Bipartisan Policy Center's Cybersecurity Task Force argued in a report.

The task force, co-chaired by former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden and Boston Properties chief executive Mort Zuckerman, proposes a set of legislative recommendations in the report that are intended to help the private and public sectors share information about cyber threats with one another in real time. The release of the report comes as Congress is gridlocked on cybersecurity legislation. The task force notes that companies are hesitant to share information with the government about cyberattacks spotted on their networks because they fear the data will be shared with competitors or could be used to bring legal action against them. To counter this, the task force recommends that entities acting in good faith should be protected from litigation, and also be exempt from data-breach notification laws and federal unfair trade practice enforcement actions following a security breach.