Symantec backs Lieberman cybersecurity bill

Security software maker Symantec is one of the latest tech companies to come out in support of Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) cybersecurity bill, joining the likes of Microsoft, Oracle and Cisco.

In a letter sent to the bill co-sponsors on Friday, Symantec's Vice President of Global Government Affairs Cheri McGuire said the Cybersecurity Act's "passage will bring the nation closer to a more secure and resilient cybersecurity posture."

The business community's views have been split on the cybersecurity bill, which the Senate will take up this week. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, IBM and TechAmerica have criticized aspects of the measure and questioned whether the framework is truly voluntary. While the bill is designed to incentivize critical infrastructure operators to meet a set of cybersecurity standards, those three business groups fear the voluntary standards could ultimately become new security mandates.

Symantec, on the other hand, took a different view in its letter and lauded the bill's approach.

"The bill strikes the right balance between improving public-private information sharing capabilities while ensuring that privacy and civil liberties remain intact and protected," McGuire wrote. "We also applaud the decision to leverage existing regulatory and voluntary regimes — instead of creating new ones — to promote cybersecurity risk assessments and the adoption of standards for critical information infrastructure."

Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, EMC and CA Technologies voiced their support for Lieberman's bill last week. Co-sponsors Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Symantec and more than a dozen other tech companies earlier this month to ask for their support for the bill.

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