The House easily passed a bill yesterday designed to encourage companies to share details of computer breaches with the federal government, one of several initiatives from policy makers responding to the spate of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The bill passed 307-116, backed by a majority of both Republicans and Democrats, and now moves to the Senate. But in a reflection of widespread political anxiety about a new government data-collection effort, lawmakers bucked the bill’s author and required that the measure phase out in seven years. U.S. policy makers have struggled to address the growing problem of data breaches at major U.S. companies and government agencies, overwhelmed by the scale of the attacks and hamstrung by infighting over how to respond. The White House, State Department and Pentagon, along with entities including Target Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and Anthem Inc. have suffered embarrassing breaches, prompting calls for new strategies. In addition to legislation, federal officials are readying steps to both deter attacks and better protect companies from future breaches.
