[Infowarrior] - U.S. unprepared for Net meltdown, blue chips warn

[Richard Forno]

U.S. unprepared for Net meltdown, blue chips warn

By Anne Broache
http://news.com.com/U.S.+unprepared+for+Net+meltdown%2C+blue+chips+warn/2100
-7348_3-6087470.html

Story last modified Fri Jun 23 12:49:44 PDT 2006

The United States has never experienced a massive Internet outage, but a
coalition of dynamic chief executives said Friday that the nation must do
more to prepare for that prospect.

The cautionary document (click here for PDF) was a product of the Business
Roundtable, whose 160 corporate members include companies ranging from
Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Sun Microsystems to General Motors, Home Depot and
Coca-Cola. All told, the group's high-rolling membership counts $4.5
trillion in annual revenues, more than 10 million employees, and nearly a
third the total value of the U.S. stock market.

Experts remain divided on the likelihood that a "cyber Katrina" will occur,
as the roundtable itself acknowledges. But many sectors of the economy
continue to urge the government to be better prepared, should such an event
occur.

Without proper planning, myriad industries--from health care to
transportation to financial services--could face devastation if a natural
disaster, terrorist or hacker succeeds in disrupting Net access, they
charged.

"There is no national policy on why, when and how the government would
intervene to reconstitute portions of the Internet or to respond to a threat
or attack," the report said. Private-sector companies may have individual
readiness plans, but they aren't prepared to work together on a wide scale
to restore normal activity, the businesses said.

The report called for the government to take a number of actions, including:

€ setting up a global advance-warning mechanism, akin to those broadcasted
for natural disasters, for Internet disruptions

€ issuing a policy that clearly defines the roles of business and government
representatives in the event of disruptions

€ establishing formal training programs for response to cyberdisasters

€ and allotting more federal funding for cybersecurity protection.

The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, which bears primary
responsibility for coordinating responses to cyberattacks, receives on
average $70 million per year, or about 0.2 percent of the entire U.S.
Department of Homeland Security budget, the report noted.

The suggestions drew praise from the Cyber Security Industry Alliance. That
organization, composed of computer security firms, has long been lobbying
for additional actions in the cybersecurity realm by Congress and the Bush
administration.

"A massive cyberdisruption could have a cascading, long-term impact without
adequate coordination between government and the private sector," said Paul
Kurtz, the alliance's executive director. "The stakes are too high for
continued government inaction."

Homeland Security has borne the brunt of the criticism for alleged inaction,
though the agency did lead a mock cyberattack and response earlier this
year. An analysis of that exercise is expected this summer.


Copyright ©1995-2006 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.