Our current patchwork cyber security policy is both antiquated and fails to ensure much needed cooperation amongst various agencies. We need to develop a 21st century policy to protect the country from cyber attacks, both in the public and private sectors. An attack could have a potentially debilitating impact on our national and economic security.

Experts in both government and the private sector agree that one of the biggest obstacles to strengthening cyber security and preventing a disruptive cyber attack is the sharing of threat information between these sectors.  That is why I supported the Cyber Intelligence Sharing Protection Act (CISPA), which passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis in April. CISPA provides the government, private entities, and utilities with the legal authority to share "cyber threat intelligence."

This version of CISPA includes strengthened privacy protections. It requires the government to eliminate irrelevant personal information. To address concerns that the cyber threat data will be sent to a military entity or the National Security Agency (NSA), it directs the President to designate a civilian entity within the Department of Homeland Security to serve as the entry point for cyber threat information and an entity within the Department of Justice for cyber crimes information.

It is my hope that the bill's privacy protections will be strengthened as it makes its way through the legislative process. For example, private companies should be required to minimize personal information before sharing cyber threat info with the government or other companies.