Treasury Secretary Lew backs new cyber law

Lawmakers in Congress need to step up to the plate and protect US cyber networks, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said.

New legislation allowing companies to share information with each other and the government while still providing “important liability protection” is needed to ensure that banks and other major networks stay safe from hackers, Secretary Lew said. “Our cyber defenses are not yet where they need to be,” he said. “Cybersecurity must be ongoing, and by working together -- all of us -- we will meet this test.”

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) would allow people’s personal information to be shuttled to agencies like the National Security Agency, critics fear. In the past, President Obama has threatened to veto similar bills that did not do enough to protect people’s information.