Sharing cybersecurity information doesn’t violate antitrust laws

U.S. businesses can share most cyberthreat information with competitors without facing antitrust enforcement action, two U.S. enforcement agencies said Thursday. Properly shared cyberthreat information isn’t likely to raise antitrust concerns from either the U.S. Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission, the agencies said in a joint policy statement. “This is an antitrust no-brainer: Companies who engage in properly designed cyberthreat information sharing will not run afoul of the antitrust laws,” said Bill Baer, the assistant attorney general in charge of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division. “This means that as long as companies don’t discuss competitive information such as pricing and output when sharing cybersecurity information, they’re OK.” With cyberthreats increasing in number and sophistication, information sharing is a way companies can help protect themselves, Baer said during a briefing. “This kind of information sharing is good public policy,” he said.