[Infowarrior] - Partnering for Cyberspace Security

[Richard Forno]

Partnering for Cyberspace Security

By Walter Pincus
Monday, November 3, 2008; A19

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/02/AR2008110202204_pf.html

In two recent speeches that have attracted little notice, Donald Kerr,  
principal deputy director of national intelligence, has called for a  
radical new relationship between government and the private sector to  
counter what he called the "malicious activity in cyberspace [that] is  
a growing threat to everyone."

Kerr said the most serious challenge to the nation's economy and  
security is protecting the intellectual property of government and the  
private sector that is the basis for advancements in science and  
technology.

"I have a deep concern . . . that the intelligence community has still  
not properly aligned its response to what I would call this period of  
amazing innovation -- the 'technological Wild West' -- by grasping the  
full range of opportunities and threats that technology provides to  
us," he said at the annual symposium of the Association for  
Intelligence Officers on Oct. 24.

"Major losses of information and value for our government programs  
typically aren't from spies . . . In fact, one of the great concerns I  
have is that so much of the new capabilities that we're all going to  
depend on aren't any longer developed in government labs under  
government contract."

Calling for "a fundamental rethinking of our government's traditional  
relationship with the private sector," Kerr said that "a high  
percentage of our critical information infrastructure is privately  
owned, and both government and industry must recognize that an  
individual vulnerability is a common weakness."

Hackers steal proprietary information, shut down systems and corrupt  
the integrity of information by inserting erroneous data, he said. He  
described "supply-chain attacks" in which adversaries plant  
vulnerabilities in communications hardware and other high-tech  
equipment "that can be used later to bring down systems or cripple our  
infrastructure."

Kerr offered some far-reaching solutions in a talk Wednesday during  
another symposium, sponsored by the Office of the National  
Counterintelligence Executive, which is part of his organization.

One approach would have the government take equity stakes in companies  
developing technical products, in effect expanding the practice of In- 
Q-Tel, the CIA entity that invests in companies.

Another proposal is to provide the same protective capabilities  
applied to government Web sites, ending in .gov and .mil, to the  
private industry's sites, ending in .com, which Kerr said have close  
to 98 percent of the nation's most important information.

He also suggested that the government ask insurers whether they cover  
"a failure to protect intellectual capital." That way, Kerr said, the  
insurers, through their premiums, "provide an incentive for companies,  
in fact, to pay attention to protecting their intellectual property."

In the past, Kerr said, when the director of central intelligence or  
the FBI chief faced similar problems, they would meet privately with  
leaders of companies involved in new technologies, seeking cooperation  
and perhaps access to their products. "What's the modern equivalent of  
what used to be done?" Kerr asked.

"We have a responsibility . . . to help those companies that we take  
an equity stake in or those that are just out there in the U.S.  
economy, to protect the most valuable assets they have, their ideas  
and the people who create them," he said.

National security and intelligence reporter Walter Pincus pores over  
the speeches, reports, transcripts and other documents that flood  
Washington and every week uncovers the fine print that rarely makes  
headlines -- but should. If you have any items that fit the bill,  
please send them to fineprint at washpost.com.