DOJ And FTC Issue Policy Statement On Sharing Cybersecurity Information

On April 10, 2014, the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission issued a joint policy statement to give companies guidance regarding the sharing of cybersecurity information. The policy clarifies that legitimate exchanges of real-time cyberthreat and cyberattack information, even among competitors, is not likely to raise antitrust concerns. The policy explains that this information is highly technical in nature and therefore is very different from the sharing of competitively sensitive information such as current and future prices or output. Furthermore, the policy recognizes that such information exchanges have procompetitive effects, because they reduce costs, which ultimately benefits consumers.