From: Hillicon Valley/The Hill’s Technology Blog
By Jennifer Martinez
Business leaders unveiled a proposal on Wednesday that’s aimed at boosting the security of American companies’ computer infrastructure against cyberattacks from hackers.
The Business Roundtable, which represents the chief executives of top U.S. companies, is calling for Congress to pass legislation aimed at improving the sharing of information about malicious source code and other cyber threats between government and industry so companies can thwart cyberattacks in real-time.
Business Roundtable President John Engler said improving information-sharing — rather than implementing top-down regulations — is key to preventing hackers from siphoning companies’ valuable intellectual property or attacking their computer systems.
“Speed matters here and that’s why flexible approaches are being talked about,” Engler said.
The trade association stresses that information-sharing legislation needs to include liability protection for companies so they’re protected from legal action after sharing cyber-threat data with the government. The legislative framework also needs to include antitrust and freedom of information protections for businesses so they don’t suffer legal and financial repercussions for sharing cyber-threat data with the government and their corporate peers.
“The private companies want to be sure that if they’re sharing this information and acting in good faith that they want to be protected,” said Michael Manchisi, group executive of MasterCard Worldwide’s global processing business.
On the other hand, Manchisi said U.S. companies want the government to send them information about incoming cyber threats in a timely manner — including classified information, in some cases — so they can immediately act on it. He said regulations would impede companies from responding quickly to cyber threats.
There are “hundreds of thousands of attempts” to get into MasterCard’s systems “all the time,” Manchisi said. He credited the company’s computer security group for thwarting those attacks.
“There are people who are trying to get into our systems every day, every hour, and the challenge is being able to stay ahead of that,” he said.
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