Recently in POLICY Category

FBI report to the Senate Judiciary Committee...

READ MORE:  FBI Press Release

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

The federal government is reportedly launching an expansive program dubbed "Perfect Citizen" to detect cyber assaults on private companies and government agencies running such critical infrastructure as the electricity grid and nuclear-power plants.  The program would rely on a set of cyber sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting an impending cyber attack, though it wouldn't persistently monitor the whole system.  READ MORE

Another viewpoint ... Securing critical infrastructure against cyber attack impractical ... READ MORE

Follow-up ... NSA Denies it will monitor U.S. utilities, READ MORE

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)

Information sharing across federal, state and local agencies poses some of the most significant challenges to collaboration.  Concerns about the ability of state and local agencies to protect sensitive information they receive has created reluctance among federal agencies and private sector companies to share information.  READ MORE

GAO Report (.pdf)...

USCYBERCOM chief discusses how the U.S. will fight espionage and crime ...OPINION: Is this the USCYBERCOM mission ...  ?

General Keith Alexander, head of the new U.S. Cyber Command, recently called for for global rules of engagement for cyber-war, and for increased engagement with nations that are major sources of cyber crime and espionage, including Russia and China. READ MORE