Beefing up cybersecurity

[Commentary] The engineers who designed the Internet focused on connection and communication, not safety and security. That's one reason hackers have been able to take surreptitious control of Internet-connected devices, cripple websites and steal valuable data. Now, lawmakers are considering whether to vastly expand the government's role in protecting Internet services and corporate computer networks against cyber attack. But while the online security threats are serious, encouraging private industry to funnel information to the government poses its own set of problems. A better approach would be to address directly the software vulnerabilities of the Internet and the devices that connect to it. Having companies do a better job minimizing their exposure to hackers and keeping their software up to date is at least as important as having them monitor their networks. And if companies want to share what they learn about cyber attacks — some may not because they believe that information gives them a competitive advantage — they should do so without including personally identifiable information, and without handing the data to federal enforcement agencies that might be tempted to look for something other than hackers.