Leaders of the House intelligence committee have crafted bipartisan legislation aimed at fostering the exchange of online information between the private sector and the government to better protect commercial computer networks from cyberattacks.

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 exempts private firms from liability for sharing data with the government, as well as for any failure to use that data to improve their networks. The goal is to encourage the private sector and the government to exchange information that could be useful in protecting systems that are critical to the nation’s security and economic interests.

The White House and civil liberties advocates, however, have raised concerns that the bill could jeopardize individuals’ privacy.

Source: The Washington Post