Stakes high for White House on CISPA

The Obama administration didn't mince words in 2012 when it threatened to veto what it saw as a horrible House cybersecurity bill — one that fell short on consumer privacy. A year later, that bill is back, and the White House may be hedging its bets. As a House vote draws near, the White House remains caught between large technology companies that support the measure, powerful privacy advocates who vocally oppose it and congressional leaders it can't afford to alienate if it seeks a cybersecurity deal in 2013.

For President Barack Obama, the stakes are high. He’s made improving the country's digital defenses one of his top national security priorities, but the House bill, known as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, has incurred the wrath of the Internet’s loudest activists, and the administration must tread carefully to avoid becoming a target as well. For now, the White House's allies are urging it to speak with the same forceful tone it adopted in 2012.