AT&T CEO: Liability Protection In Light Of Cyber Hacks, 'Issue Of National Security'

With the recent hack attacks on major corporations, cybersecurity isn’t being taken lightly, neither by companies nor by the government. Just this week, the Obama administration created a new agency to exclusively deal with the issue.

Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO at AT&T Inc. T, was on CNBC recently to discuss the need for stringent cybersecurity measures and how the government and corporations need to work closely to fight the growing threat of hack attacks.

Cybersecurity Is A Huge Deal

“It’s a big issue, obviously, with everything we have seen over the last couple of years from Home Depot to Sony,” Stephenson said. “The issue is real now, and it’s not just something that’s a little bit of a problem. It’s a major problem.

“It’s a major problem not just for business, but for national security.”

Not Close To A Solution

He continued, “I think the implications of that are significant and Congress has been talking about this and the president has been working this issue for quite some time. And we don’t feel like we are much closer to a solution for addressing this than we were a couple of years ago.”

Related Link: Government Push For Cyberseucirty Highlights Growing Demand

Exchange Of Information

“We are going to have to obviously get a mechanism in place that will allow the government and businesses to share information freely and openly,” Stephenson said.

“But to do that, Congress is going to have to step up and provide liability protection for companies, because that’s a big issue for companies that are exchanging information with the government and so forth.

“And so there’s a couple of key elements that are going to be required and it’s not going to be an easy issue to address, but it’s an issue of national security importance,” Stephenson concluded.