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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

DHS to Fund Hacking Response Standards

WASHINGTON (CN) - In the wake of recent hacks on Sony and Anthem, the White House announced plans to make it easier for government and the private sector to collaborate in responding to cyber-attacks.

President Barack Obama signed an executive order, Friday, that encouraged collaboration between the government and private companies to quickly respond to hacker attacks and other security breaches.

Late last year, Sony's servers were breached and confidential information was released to the public. And last week, the insurer Anthem said millions of its customers had their social security numbers stolen.

The order builds on the government's previous announcement to strengthen cybersecurity through private and public collaboration and was issued following a White House summit at Stanford University last week.

At that summit, Obama stressed the importance of collaborating and that the private sector and the government must continue evolve to respond to changing threats.

Obama's order directs the Department of Homeland Security to fund an organization that would create a set of standards for information sharing and analysis organizations (ISAOs).

An ISAO can be comprised of members from both the public or private sectors, or a combination of groups, and would coordinate with Homeland Security to share information about cybersecurity risks and problems.

As part of the order, Homeland Security is an agency that can approve arrangements to share classified information.

The order also requires ISAOs to follow protections for privacy and civil liberties when sharing information and requires government agencies to coordinate with senior agencies to protect privacy and civil liberties.

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