October 22, 2013 - In the wake of a cyber-attack simulation, US financial services industry trade body Sifma has called on politicians to bring in legislation designed to improve communication between the government and private firms.

The day-long Quantum Dawn 2 exercise in July saw over 500 participants from more than 50 different financial firms run through their responses to a host of cyber-attacks that aimed to steal money, crash systems and disrupt equity market trading.

In its report on the exercise, co-authored with Deloitte & Touche, Sifma hails it a success, praising the in-house communications procedures within participating firms and improvements in the partnership between the industry and government agencies.

However, the trade body also says that it will push Congress to pass legislation designed to make it easier to share information with government. Currently, firms are open to lawsuits if they act on information given to them by government if the information turns out to be wrong.

A bill to make it easier to share information and protect companies is currently being finalised by the Senate Intelligence Committee, according to the FT.

The report also calls for greater integration between industry groups, market participants, and government agencies and better guidelines and decision frameworks to determine if cyber incidents are systemic.

Judd Gregg, CEO, Sifma, says: "Quantum Dawn 2 proved that information sharing between the private sector and the government is one of the most effective ways to combat cyber crime. We hope this exercise will encourage Congress to pass legislation that promotes this sharing and other activities that will help our country more effectively mitigate cyber threats on the financial system."