Tech group representing Google, Yahoo backs CISPA - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

A trade association that represents Google, Yahoo, Cisco and Oracle has come out in support of a controversial cybersecurity bill that is slated to be voted on in the House next week.

In a letter sent to the leaders of the House Intelligence panel on Wednesday, TechNet CEO Rey Ramsey said the cybersecurity bill addresses the need for industry and government to be able to send and receive information about cyber threats to one another in real time. He also commended the Intelligence panel leaders for taking steps to address privacy concerns with their bill, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), but also said the trade group looked forward to continuing talks on "further privacy protections."

"We commend the committee for providing liability protections to companies participating in voluntary information-sharing and applaud the committee's efforts to work with a wide range of stakeholders to address issues such as strengthening privacy protections," Ramsey writes. "As the legislative process unfolds, we look forward to continuing the dialogue with you and your colleagues on further privacy protections, including discussions on the role of a civilian interface for information sharing."

Privacy and civil liberties groups have been pushing for the bill to be amended so it would put a civilian agency, like the Department of Homeland Security, in charge of information-sharing efforts between industry and the government. Privacy advocates have argued that a civilian agency should be in charge of receiving cyber threat data, such as malicious source code, from companies first before passing it on to other intelligence agencies, such as the National Security Agency.

The bill would allow companies to share cyber threat data directly with the NSA, along with other government agencies.

While privacy groups have staunchly opposed CISPA, it has received backing from several industry groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Information Technology Industry Council.

Several high-profile tech executives sit on TechNet's executive council, including Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Oracle President Safra Catz and venture capitalist John Doerr. A list of the members on TechNet's executive council are printed on the letter that the trade group sent to House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.).

CISPA is aimed at encouraging industry and the government to share information about malicious source code and other online threats with each other in real time, so companies and government agencies can take steps to thwart cyberattacks.

The bill is intended to remove the legal hurdles that discourage companies from sharing cyber threat data with the government. Companies have said they are hesitant to share threat information with the government because it may result in legal action against them.

CISPA passed the House Intelligence panel on a 18-2 vote on Wednesday and is headed to the House floor for a vote next week. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) voted against the measure, citing privacy concerns. 

The White House issued a veto threat against CISPA last year, in part, because of concerns that it lacked sufficient privacy protections for people's information online.

Following Wednesday's markup, a White House spokeswoman said the changes adopted to CISPA "reflect a good faith effort" to address some of the substantive concerns it has with the measure, but don't go far enough to solve its "fundamental" issues with the bill.