Cybersecurity 2.0

[Commentary] Give Washington some credit: It looks as if politicians have learned it's not a good idea to destroy the Internet in order to save it.

Congress and the White House have considered dozens of bills over the past few years to address cybersecurity, chiefly how countries such as China and Russia are using the Web to access confidential information from companies and U.S. agencies. The original approach was to create a "kill switch" empowering regulators to turn off access to the Web. New legislation would instead break down silos between U.S. companies and intelligence agencies so that cyber attacks can be tracked and reported, raising prospects for identifying cyber spies. The Web has transformed many areas of life, now including a new cyber cold war. America's enemies need to be discovered and deterred. Making it possible for companies and intelligence agencies to share information more freely is a good first step, increasing transparency as a way of using the strength of the open Web as a tool in its own defense.