Bill Would Protect Firms, Aims to Lift Cybersecurity

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Tuesday July 10 5:31 PM ET

Bill Would Protect Firms, Aims to Lift Cybersecurity

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two congressmen introduced a bill Tuesday that aims to beef up the nation's cybersecurity efforts by carving out protections for businesses that share confidential information with government.

Republican Rep. Tom Davis and Democratic Rep. Tom Moran, both of Virginia, said U.S. businesses and government need to work together to boost computer security in the face of increasing attacks from hackers. Banks, power companies and other vital industries could benefit from sharing information about cyber attacks or efforts to repel them, they said.

But businesses are often leery of sharing information about cyber attacks with the FBI (news - web sites) and other government agencies, fearing that confidential information could be made public through the Freedom of Information Act or that close cooperation could lead to antitrust charges.

Davis and Moran's bill would seek to ease such concerns by forbidding the government from disclosing cybersecurity information to the public or using it in lawsuits against the company.

``The objective is to protect computer systems, and that objective right now is a higher priority than full public disclosure,'' Moran said.

The bill would also bar the government from charging companies with anti-competitive behavior if they worked together to beef up cybersecurity.

The bill uses a similar approach to a 1999 law that limited liability for the Year 2000 computer virus.

Several prominent business groups voiced support for the bill.

``Businesses must be able to share information without fear of legal ramifications,'' said Rick Lane, director of e-commerce for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (news - web sites).

Ari Schwartz, senior policy analyst at the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology, said he supported many aspects of the bill but that the Freedom of Information Act exemptions may not be necessary as trade secrets and matters of national security are already protected.

``They could in fact serve to impede the kind of sharing that could be the end goal to this program,'' Schwartz said.

Davis said the Government Reform Committee would hold hearings on the bill before the August recess, and he hoped to bring it to the House floor before the end of the year.

The two have been working with the Bush Administration as well, he said.

``We are hopeful to have their support on this,'' Davis said.

In the Senate, Utah Republican Robert Bennett has said he plans to introduce a similar bill.

-- (news@of.note), July 11, 2001


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