Obama Asks Silicon Valley to Cooperate More Against Cyberattacks

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy-policy/2015/02/13/obama-asks-silicon-valley-to-cooperate-more-against-cyberattacks/

President Barack Obama asked tech industry executives on Friday for closer
cooperation in defending against hackers after high-profile attacks against
companies like Sony that exposed weaknesses in America's cyber defenses.

Speaking at Stanford University, Obama told Silicon Valley executives they
needed to share more information both with each other and with his
administration.

"Government cannot do this alone. But the fact is that the private sector
can't do it alone either because it's government that often has the latest
information on new threats," he told a gathering of CEOs.

Obama has moved cybersecurity toward the top of his 2015 agenda after the
recent breaches.

The Sony attack was particularly worrying for U.S. officials, who blamed
North Korea for stealing data, debilitating computers and pressuring the
studio to halt the release of a satirical film about leader Kim Jong-un.

"There's only one way to defend America from these cyber threats and that
is through government and industry working together, sharing appropriate
information as true partners," Obama said.

He was to meet privately with a small group of business leaders in Silicon
Valley to try to mend fences with tech companies still smarting over damage
to their businesses when government surveillance practices were exposed by
former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Upset about the lack of reforms to surveillance programs, the CEOs of
Google Inc, Facebook Inc and Yahoo Inc stayed away from Friday's conference.

But Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook gave an address and other CEOs
attended and spoke.

Obama signed an executive order aimed at encouraging companies to share
more cyber threat data through "information sharing and analysis
organizations" - hubs where companies share information with each other and
with the Department of Homeland Security.

It is one step in a long effort to make companies as well as privacy and
consumer advocates more comfortable with proposed legislation that would
offer firms protection from being sued for handing over customer
information to the government.

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