Recently in Opinion Category

Two articles in The Economist of interest ...

War in the fifth domain:  Are the mouse and keyboard the new weapons of conflict?

Cyberwar:  It is time for countries to start talking about arms control on the internet

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) tackle key obstacles, including the lack of a national R&D agenda, weak leadership, and little R&D information sharing, in cybersecurity R&D through its Subcommittee on Networking and Information Technology Research and Development.  READ MORE

GAO Report

Leading lawmakers have sent a letter to the President signaling their commitment to strengthening national cycbersecurity.

The senators write that the government, industry and private citizens remain vulnerable to many cyber threats, including:

    * Loss of vital intelligence
    * Loss of intellectual property
    * Identity theft and other cyber crimes
    * Debilitation of critical infrastructure
    * Degradation of communications
    * Insecure financial transactions

READ MORE

VIEW LETTER

DHS Inspector General says the federal government still cannot adequately protect its networks. One big reason why is that the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) established to spot vulnerabilities in the government's networks, and coordinate responses when those flaws are exploited has neither the authority nor the manpower to respond effectively to the threat of cyber attacks. READ MORE

Statement of Richard Skinner, Inspector General DHS, Before the Committee on Homeland Security, U.S. House of Representatives, June 16, 2001 (.pdf)

National Cyber Security Center director Phil Reitinger testified during a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that Congress should work with the administration to determine if new presidential emergency powers are needed to govern how key industries such as power plants, the electrical grid and vital financial systems respond during a cyber crisis.  READ MORE

Related:  Stance of top cybersecurity official surprises Senators, READ MORE

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing / June 15, 2010 / Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset: Comprehensive Legislation for the 21st Century  ... Hearing Archive (includes web-cast and testimonies)

A new survey finds that more than 90% of private and public sector security experts say cyber attacks pose a serious threat.  The poll also found that 70 percent of government officials surveyed said private-sector networks were not secure enough, while 39 percent of private sector security officials surveyed believed government networks were not secure enough. READ MORE

SURVEY...

Imagine a botnet comprised of 100 million infected computers working together as one -- the cybersecurity world's version of a WMD.  Some believe this threat is soon coming straight out of Africa.  READ MORE

In preparation for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to head Cyber Command Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander said that the U.S. must fire back against cyber attacks swiftly and strongly and should act to counter or disable a threat even when the identity of the attacker is unknown. READ MORE

RELATED:  Senators move carefully on Pentagon Cyber Command, Read More...