US President Barack Obama is reportedly set to sign an executive order on 13 February at a summit held at Stanford University, which is aimed at pushing firms to share more cyber security threat information with the government and each other.
The meeting, which will attract industry and law enforcement, comes as Silicon Valley firms remain reluctant to support mandated cybersecurity data sharing without reforms to government surveillance practices revealed by ex-NSA contractor Snowden.
The order lays foundation for new private-sector led ‘information sharing and analysis organizations’ (ISAO), which will be hubs enabling firms to share cyber threat data with each other and also with the US Department of Homeland Security.
Obama cyber coordinator Michael Daniel told Reuters: "We believe that by clearly defining what makes for a good ISAO that will make tying liability protection to sectoral organizations easier and more accessible to the public and to privacy and civil liberties advocates."
Obama’s legislation also calls for additional information-sharing and constrain any legal accountability for firms that share excessively.
With Apple chief executive Tim Cook due to address the conference, while executives of other major tech firms including Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo and Google would not attend the event.
