White House considering cybersecurity incentives

The Obama Administration has weighed whether to back tax breaks, insurance perks and other legal benefits for businesses that make meaningful improvements to their digital defenses.

Those incentives — considered in May and not yet final — would aim to entice power plants, water systems and other forms of critical infrastructure to adopt the voluntary cybersecurity standards that the government and industry are drafting in response to President Barack Obama’s executive order. The Department of Homeland Security first raised the ideas in a May 21 presentation, labeled “preliminary,” and an Obama Administration official cautioned that the presentation is a “snapshot in time” — and that it only “reflects some preliminary analysis.” Still, businesses could find much to like in the proposed perks. They include limited protections from legal liability, for example, and new tax incentives for companies — presumably for demonstrating good cyber behavior. But many of the incentives suggested in the presentation could require action by Congress, which failed repeatedly to approve any cybersecurity legislation last year.