Companies Want Lawsuit Shield to Share Cyber Threat Data

A month after President Barack Obama issued an executive order on strengthening U.S. cybersecurity, companies want Congress to provide incentives for joining the federal push for sturdier computer defenses.

Under Obama’s Feb. 12 order, the U.S. is to develop voluntary cybersecurity standards for critical industries and speed up government sharing of threat information with the private sector. Companies such as Dow Chemical Co., AT&T Inc., and Intel Corp. want lawmakers to give companies immunity from lawsuits on data exchanges with other firms and the government.