President Obama officially announced an executive order Friday to build a framework for encouraging private sector companies to share cybersecurity information through the federal government.
The president first outlined his plan to establish a threat information sharing network in the run-up to the State of the Union address, which includes creation of Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAO).
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“Just as we’re connected like never before, we have to work together like never before,” Obama said during a speech at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection at Stanford University. “It’s one of the great paradoxes of our time that the very technologies that empower us to do great good can also be used to undermine us and inflict great harm.”
The executive order – signed Feb. 12 – leaves the exact structure of those organizations open but looks to encourage participation by allowing the organizations to adopt voluntary standards and giving limited liability protection to companies reporting a breach.
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The order also looks to protect consumer information, particularly when federal agencies are involved.
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