Executive Order calls for information sharing of cyber threat data

On February 13, President Obama signed an Executive Order to encourage and promote sharing of cybersecurity threat information within the private sector and between the private sector and government. The Executive Order lays out a framework for expanded information sharing designed to help companies work together, and work with the federal government, to quickly identify and protect against cyber threats.

The Executive Order encourages private sector cybersecurity collaboration through information sharing and analysis organizations (ISAOs), and directs the Department of Homeland Security to fund the creation of a non-profit organization to develop a common set of voluntary standards for these ISAOs. The Executive Order also increases collaboration between ISAOs and the federal government, and will streamline private sector companies’ ability to access classified cybersecurity threat information.

The new Executive Order complements the Administration’s January 2015 legislative proposal, and paves the way for new legislation, by building out the concept of ISAOs as a framework for the targeted liability protections that the Administration has long asserted are pivotal to incentivizing and expanding information sharing.

For more information about this Executive Order, please follow the links below.
Executive Order — Promoting Private Sector Cybersecurity Information Sharing, White House
Fact Sheet: Executive Order Promoting Private Sector Cybersecurity Information Sharing, White House