[Infowarrior] - Latest U.S. Strategy adds cybersecurity focus

[Richard Forno]

Latest U.S. Strategy adds cybersecurity focus
Published: 2007-10-11

http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/605

The Bush Administration highlighted the importance of securing the
government's and private sector's use of the Internet in the fight against
terrorism with its latest National Strategy for Homeland Security published
on Wednesday.

The 53-page document, unveiled at a White House ceremony, builds on the
first National Strategy for Homeland Security published in 2002, calling out
the overarching and varied nature of threats to cyberspace. The document,
which sets out the Administration's approach to combatting terrorism in the
United States, emphasized that most of the services that Americans rely on
are in some way affected by the Internet.

"Terrorists increasingly exploit the Internet to communicate, proselytize,
recruit, raise funds, and conduct training and operational planning," the
Strategy states. "Hostile foreign governments have the technical and
financial resources to support advanced network exploitation and launch
attacks on the informational and physical elements of our cyber
infrastructure. Criminal hackers threaten our Nation¹s economy and the
personal information of our citizens, and they also could pose a threat if
wittingly or unwittingly recruited by foreign intelligence or terrorist
groups."

Two weeks ago, a video reportedly leaked by officials at the Department of
Homeland Security showed a staged test that demonstrated the potential
impact of a cyberattack on an electrical generator. While the DHS has been
criticized in the past for giving short shrift to cybersecurity, the latest
Strategy appears to recognize the importance of the Internet on the health
of critical infrastructure.

However, the document also made the case for the Bush Administration's
assertions that more widespread surveillance powers are necessary in the age
of the Internet. Facing criticism over its warrantless surveillance program,
President Bush argued that new legislation must be passed to grant
intelligence agents the ability to secretively monitor conversations between
foreign citizens and Americans.

"The final bill must meet certain criteria: It must give our intelligence
professionals the tools and flexibility they need to protect our country,"
President Bush said in a prepared statement. "It must keep the intelligence
gap firmly closed, and ensure that protections intended for the American
people are not extended to terrorists overseas who are plotting to harm us.
And it must grant liability protection to companies who are facing
multi-billion-dollar lawsuits only because they are believed to have
assisted in the efforts to defend our nation following the 9/11 attacks."