Silicon Valley tech experts should lead effort to protect against cyber-espionage

Add cyberespionage to the list of behaviors the Obama Administration would like China to stop. The President, though, is likely to have as much success stopping China's hacking as he has had getting it to play by the rules on video piracy, currency manipulation and trade subsidies. The better strategy is for President Barack Obama to bolster the effort to protect our private and public resources from attack. The President signed an executive order last week calling for the development of voluntary standards to protect the nation's transportation system, banking industry, utilities and other crucial national infrastructure. Experts fear hackers could, for example, shut down financial institutions or disrupt air traffic control systems. President Obama reportedly also wants Congress to reintroduce the Cyber Intelligence Sharing Protection Act, which would make it easier for private firms to share information and data with the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate killed the original CISPA bill last year, with good reason. As San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren noted at the time, it gave the government far too much access to the online data of every American Internet user. Silicon Valley leaders need to work with members of Congress and the White House. It will take all of their savvy to design ways to stay one step ahead of foreign cyberattacks while providing essential protections for Americans' privacy.