[Infowarrior] - WH Outlines Cyber Security Strategy

[Richard Forno]

Posted at 09:40 AM ET, 01/22/2009
Obama Administration Outlines Cyber Security Strategy

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/?hpid=news-col-blog

President Barack Obama's administration has sketched out a broad new  
strategy to protect the nation's most vital information networks from  
cyber attack and to boost investment and research on cyber security.

The key points of the plan closely mirror recommendations offered late  
last year by a bipartisan commission of computer security experts,  
which urged then president-elect Obama to set up a high-level post to  
tackle cyber security, consider new regulations to combat cyber crime  
and shore up the security of the nation's most sensitive computer  
networks.

The strategy, as outlined in a broader policy document on homeland  
security priorities posted on the Whitehouse.gov Web site Wednesday,  
states the following goals:

* Strengthen Federal Leadership on Cyber Security: Declare the cyber  
infrastructure a strategic asset and establish the position of  
national cyber advisor who will report directly to the president and  
will be responsible for coordinating federal agency efforts and  
development of national cyber policy.

* Initiate a Safe Computing R&D Effort and Harden our Nation's Cyber  
Infrastructure: Support an initiative to develop next-generation  
secure computers and networking for national security applications.  
Work with industry and academia to develop and deploy a new generation  
of secure hardware and software for our critical cyber infrastructure.

* Protect the IT Infrastructure That Keeps America's Economy Safe:  
Work with the private sector to establish tough new standards for  
cyber security and physical resilience.

* Prevent Corporate Cyber-Espionage: Work with industry to develop the  
systems necessary to protect our nation's trade secrets and our  
research and development. Innovations in software, engineering,  
pharmaceuticals and other fields are being stolen online from U.S.  
businesses at an alarming rate.

* Develop a Cyber Crime Strategy to Minimize the Opportunities for  
Criminal Profit: Shut down the mechanisms used to transmit criminal  
profits by shutting down untraceable Internet payment schemes.  
Initiate a grant and training program to provide federal, state, and  
local law enforcement agencies the tools they need to detect and  
prosecute cyber crime.

* Mandate Standards for Securing Personal Data and Require Companies  
to Disclose Personal Information Data Breaches: Partner with industry  
and our citizens to secure personal data stored on government and  
private systems. Institute a common standard for securing such data  
across industries and protect the rights of individuals in the  
information age.

While it remains to be seen what resources the Obama administration  
may devote to these goals, it is an encouraging sign to see the new  
White House give the vital challenges of cyber security such  
prominence so soon.