Despite hundreds of lobbyists, tens of millions of dollars and even a few dozen IBM executives marching on Capital Hill, the White House has shared its decision to veto the highly controversial and hotly debated CISPA cybersecurity bill, which set out to make it easier for the government and private companies to share data in their efforts to stop hackers.  Unchanged from last year, President Obama’s administration has stated in “no uncertain terms” its plans to shoot down the CISPA bill.

The controversy over CISPA stems from privacy concerns regarding the bill’s data-sharing practices, which do not require the anonymization of personally identifiable information being shared across participating entities.  Advocacy groups have fiercely protested the bill for months, despite the recent rise in cyber-security breaches in both private and public sectors.

From the White House:

“The Administration […] remains concerned that the bill does not require private entities to take reasonable steps to remove irrelevant personal information when sending cybersecurity data to the government or other private sector entities. Citizens have a right to know that corporations will be held accountable – and not granted immunity – for failing to safeguard personal information adequately. …

[I]f the bill, as currently crafted, were presented to the President, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill. ”

It’s a timely topic that our own founding editor Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins discussed on this morning’s Live NewsDesk Show with Kristin Feledy, outlining the security and privacy “fails” of the CISPA bill.  See Mark’s entire segment below: