IBM today sent a letter to Senate Majority Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Harry Reid urging them to bring forward legislation that would strengthen America’s cyber defenses. Download the letter (PDF, 86 KB)
The Honorable Mitch McConnell The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader Senate Minority Leader
United States Senate United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 201510
Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Reid,
IBM supports S. 754, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), and strongly encourages you to bring this bipartisan piece of legislation to the Senate Floor before the end of this work period for debate and passage.
As the headlines report almost every day, hackers continue to break into computer systems to steal the personal data of individuals and the confidential data of businesses. These attacks threaten the health of our economy, the personal privacy of American consumers, and the safety of our critical infrastructure. To help combat this threat, S. 754 will provide the certainty of a legal framework through which organizations can voluntarily share cyber threat information while protecting individuals’ privacy.
IBM understands the cyber threat from our experience securing our own extensive global IT infrastructure and from providing IT security solutions to virtually every sector of business worldwide. Our business has one of the world’s largest cyber threat and vulnerability databases, and we monitor billions of security events for thousands of clients every day. Information sharing legislation is a key tool in the battle against cyber crime, providing organizations with visibility and insight into threats while improving our ability to protect against the theft of private information.
IBM appreciates your leadership and attention to this important issue. It is time for the Senate to act and continue the legislative process in order to produce a meaningful cybersecurity bill for the President’s signature this year.
Sincerely,
Christopher A. Padilla
Vice President, IBM Government and Regulatory Affairs
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