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Obama makes fresh push for cyber-security legislation

By 배지숙

Published : Feb. 14, 2015 - 10:17

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U.S. President Barack Obama made yet another push for cyber-security legislation on Friday, hosting a conference with industry leaders and others and signing a new executive order promoting the sharing of threat information.

Obama has made cyber-security a top priority in the remainder of his term, capitalizing on North Korea's alleged hacking attack on Sony Pictures late last year to highlight the country's vulnerability to cyber-attacks and the need for stronger protective measures.

Last month, Obama put forward a fresh legislative proposal calling for companies to share threat information with the government, and used his State of the Union address to call for Congress to approve the proposal in a bipartisan manner.

On Friday, the White House hosted a conference in Silicon Valley with leaders from industry, tech companies, consumer and privacy advocates and law enforcement agencies and others, in an effort to share best practices, improve information sharing and encourage the adoption of more security technologies.

"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 during a speech at the conference at Standford University.

Obama also urged Congress to pass his legislative proposal.

"We've also taken new steps to strengthen our cybersecurity -- proposing new legislation to promote greater information sharing between government and the private sector, including liability protections for companies that share information about cyber threats," he said. "Today, I'm once again calling on Congress to come together and get this done."

Obama also signed a new executive order aimed at encouraging and promoting the sharing of cyber-security threat information within the private sector and between the private sector and the federal government.

The White House said the executive order lays out a framework for expanded information sharing designed to help companies work together with the federal government to quickly identify and protect against cyber-threats.

"Rapid information sharing is an essential element of effective cyber-security because it ensures that U.S. companies work together to respond to threats, rather than operating alone," it said. (Yonhap)