House Commerce Leaders Question Information Sharing Drought on Cyber Vulnerabilities

House Commerce Committee Republicans want an explanation of the “information embargo” Amazon, AMD, Apple, Arm, Google, Intel and Microsoft invoked regarding Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities (see 1801050050), said a letter sent Wednesday to company CEOs. “While we acknowledge that critical vulnerabilities such as these create challenging trade-offs between disclosure and secrecy,” the lawmakers wrote, “cybersecurity is a collective responsibility.” House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., signed the letter along with the subcommittee chairmen of Oversight, Gregg Harper, R-Miss.; Communications, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; and Digital Commerce, Bob Latta, R-Ohio. “This reality raises serious questions about not just the embargo imposed on information regarding the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities, but on embargos regarding cybersecurity vulnerabilities in general,” the letter said. Arm “received the committee's letter and will respond accordingly to address their questions within the time frame they have outlined,” a spokesman said. Intel plans to attend an in-person briefing with the committee on the cyber vulnerabilities and welcomes "the opportunity to continue our dialogue with Congress on these important issues," a spokeswoman said. The other companies didn't comment.