[Infowarrior] - Text: Obama's Remarks on Cybersecurity

[Richard Forno]

May 29, 2009
Text: Obama's Remarks on Cybersecurity

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/us/politics/29obama.text.html?ref=politics&pagewanted=print

Following is the text of President Obama's remarks on Friday on a new  
White House cybersecurity office, as released by the White House.

THE PRESIDENT: Everybody, please be seated. We meet today at a  
transformational moment -- a moment in history when our interconnected  
world presents us, at once, with great promise but also great peril.

Now, over the past four months my administration has taken decisive  
steps to seize the promise and confront these perils. We're working to  
recover from a global recession while laying a new foundation for  
lasting prosperity. We're strengthening our armed forces as they fight  
two wars, at the same time we're renewing American leadership to  
confront unconventional challenges, from nuclear proliferation to  
terrorism, from climate change to pandemic disease. And we're bringing  
to government -- and to this White House -- unprecedented transparency  
and accountability and new ways for Americans to participate in their  
democracy.

But none of this progress would be possible, and none of these 21st  
century challenges can be fully met, without America's digital  
infrastructure -- the backbone that underpins a prosperous economy and  
a strong military and an open and efficient government. Without that  
foundation we can't get the job done.

It's long been said that the revolutions in communications and  
information technology have given birth to a virtual world. But make  
no mistake: This world -- cyberspace -- is a world that we depend on  
every single day. It's our hardware and our software, our desktops and  
laptops and cell phones and Blackberries that have become woven into  
every aspect of our lives.

It's the broadband networks beneath us and the wireless signals around  
us, the local networks in our schools and hospitals and businesses,  
and the massive grids that power our nation. It's the classified  
military and intelligence networks that keep us safe, and the World  
Wide Web that has made us more interconnected than at any time in  
human history.

So cyberspace is real. And so are the risks that come with it.

It's the great irony of our Information Age -- the very technologies  
that empower us to create and to build also empower those who would  
disrupt and destroy. And this paradox -- seen and unseen -- is  
something that we experience every day.

It's about the privacy and the economic security of American families.  
We rely on the Internet to pay our bills, to bank, to shop, to file  
our taxes. But we've had to learn a whole new vocabulary just to stay  
ahead of the cyber criminals who would do us harm -- spyware and  
malware and spoofing and phishing and botnets. Millions of Americans  
have been victimized, their privacy violated, their identities stolen,  
their lives upended, and their wallets emptied. According to one  
survey, in the past two years alone cyber crime has cost Americans  
more than $8 billion.

I know how it feels to have privacy violated because it has happened  
to me and the people around me. It's no secret that my presidential  
campaign harnessed the Internet and technology to transform our  
politics. What isn't widely known is that during the general election  
hackers managed to penetrate our computer systems. To all of you who  
donated to our campaign, I want you to all rest assured, our  
fundraising website was untouched. (Laughter.) So your confidential  
personal and financial information was protected.

But between August and October, hackers gained access to emails and a  
range of campaign files, from policy position papers to travel plans.  
And we worked closely with the CIA -- with the FBI and the Secret  
Service and hired security consultants to restore the security of our  
systems. It was a powerful reminder: In this Information Age, one of  
your greatest strengths -- in our case, our ability to communicate to  
a wide range of supporters through the Internet -- could also be one  
of your greatest vulnerabilities.

This is a matter, as well, of America's economic competitiveness. The  
small businesswoman in St. Louis, the bond trader in the New York  
Stock Exchange, the workers at a global shipping company in Memphis,  
the young entrepreneur in Silicon Valley -- they all need the networks  
to make the next payroll, the next trade, the next delivery, the next  
great breakthrough. E-commerce alone last year accounted for some $132  
billion in retail sales.

But every day we see waves of cyber thieves trolling for sensitive  
information -- the disgruntled employee on the inside, the lone hacker  
a thousand miles away, organized crime, the industrial spy and,  
increasingly, foreign intelligence services. In one brazen act last  
year, thieves used stolen credit card information to steal millions of  
dollars from 130 ATM machines in 49 cities around the world -- and  
they did it in just 30 minutes. A single employee of an American  
company was convicted of stealing intellectual property reportedly  
worth $400 million. It's been estimated that last year alone cyber  
criminals stole intellectual property from businesses worldwide worth  
up to $1 trillion.

In short, America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will  
depend on cybersecurity.

And this is also a matter of public safety and national security. We  
count on computer networks to deliver our oil and gas, our power and  
our water. We rely on them for public transportation and air traffic  
control. Yet we know that cyber intruders have probed our electrical  
grid and that in other countries cyber attacks have plunged entire  
cities into darkness.

Our technological advantage is a key to America's military dominance.  
But our defense and military networks are under constant attack. Al  
Qaeda and other terrorist groups have spoken of their desire to  
unleash a cyber attack on our country -- attacks that are harder to  
detect and harder to defend against. Indeed, in today's world, acts of  
terror could come not only from a few extremists in suicide vests but  
from a few key strokes on the computer -- a weapon of mass disruption.

In one of the most serious cyber incidents to date against our  
military networks, several thousand computers were infected last year  
by malicious software -- malware. And while no sensitive information  
was compromised, our troops and defense personnel had to give up those  
external memory devices -- thumb drives -- changing the way they used  
their computers every day.

And last year we had a glimpse of the future face of war. As Russian  
tanks rolled into Georgia, cyber attacks crippled Georgian government  
websites. The terrorists that sowed so much death and destruction in  
Mumbai relied not only on guns and grenades but also on GPS and phones  
using voice-over-the-Internet.

For all these reasons, it's now clear this cyber threat is one of the  
most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a  
nation.

It's also clear that we're not as prepared as we should be, as a  
government or as a country. In recent years, some progress has been  
made at the federal level. But just as we failed in the past to invest  
in our physical infrastructure -- our roads, our bridges and rails --  
we've failed to invest in the security of our digital infrastructure.

No single official oversees cybersecurity policy across the federal  
government, and no single agency has the responsibility or authority  
to match the scope and scale of the challenge. Indeed, when it comes  
to cybersecurity, federal agencies have overlapping missions and don't  
coordinate and communicate nearly as well as they should -- with each  
other or with the private sector. We saw this in the disorganized  
response to Conficker, the Internet "worm" that in recent months has  
infected millions of computers around the world.

This status quo is no longer acceptable -- not when there's so much at  
stake. We can and we must do better.

And that's why shortly after taking office I directed my National  
Security Council and Homeland Security Council to conduct a top-to- 
bottom review of the federal government's efforts to defend our  
information and communications infrastructure and to recommend the  
best way to ensure that these networks are able to secure our networks  
as well as our prosperity.

Our review was open and transparent. I want to acknowledge, Melissa  
Hathaway, who is here, who is the Acting Senior Director for  
Cyberspace on our National Security Council, who led the review team,  
as well as the Center for Strategic and International Studies  
bipartisan Commission on Cybersecurity, and all who were part of our  
60-day review team. They listened to a wide variety of groups, many of  
which are represented here today and I want to thank for their input:  
industry and academia, civil liberties and private -- privacy  
advocates. We listened to every level and branch of government -- from  
local to state to federal, civilian, military, homeland as well as  
intelligence, Congress and international partners, as well. I  
consulted with my national security teams, my homeland security teams,  
and my economic advisors.

Today I'm releasing a report on our review, and can announce that my  
administration will pursue a new comprehensive approach to securing  
America's digital infrastructure.

This new approach starts at the top, with this commitment from me:  
 From now on, our digital infrastructure -- the networks and computers  
we depend on every day -- will be treated as they should be: as a  
strategic national asset. Protecting this infrastructure will be a  
national security priority. We will ensure that these networks are  
secure, trustworthy and resilient. We will deter, prevent, detect, and  
defend against attacks and recover quickly from any disruptions or  
damage.

To give these efforts the high-level focus and attention they deserve  
-- and as part of the new, single National Security Staff announced  
this week -- I'm creating a new office here at the White House that  
will be led by the Cybersecurity Coordinator. Because of the critical  
importance of this work, I will personally select this official. I'll  
depend on this official in all matters relating to cybersecurity, and  
this official will have my full support and regular access to me as we  
confront these challenges.

Today, I want to focus on the important responsibilities this office  
will fulfill: orchestrating and integrating all cybersecurity policies  
for the government; working closely with the Office of Management and  
Budget to ensure agency budgets reflect those priorities; and, in the  
event of major cyber incident or attack, coordinating our response.

To ensure that federal cyber policies enhance our security and our  
prosperity, my Cybersecurity Coordinator will be a member of the  
National Security Staff as well as the staff of my National Economic  
Council. To ensure that policies keep faith with our fundamental  
values, this office will also include an official with a portfolio  
specifically dedicated to safeguarding the privacy and civil liberties  
of the American people.

There's much work to be done, and the report we're releasing today  
outlines a range of actions that we will pursue in five key areas.

First, working in partnership with the communities represented here  
today, we will develop a new comprehensive strategy to secure  
America's information and communications networks. To ensure a  
coordinated approach across government, my Cybersecurity Coordinator  
will work closely with my Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra, and  
my Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra. To ensure accountability  
in federal agencies, cybersecurity will be designated as one of my key  
management priorities. Clear milestones and performances metrics will  
measure progress. And as we develop our strategy, we will be open and  
transparent, which is why you'll find today's report and a wealth of  
related information on our Web site, www.whitehouse.gov.

Second, we will work with all the key players -- including state and  
local governments and the private sector -- to ensure an organized and  
unified response to future cyber incidents. Given the enormous damage  
that can be caused by even a single cyber attack, ad hoc responses  
will not do. Nor is it sufficient to simply strengthen our defenses  
after incidents or attacks occur. Just as we do for natural disasters,  
we have to have plans and resources in place beforehand -- sharing  
information, issuing warnings and ensuring a coordinated response.

Third, we will strengthen the public/private partnerships that are  
critical to this endeavor. The vast majority of our critical  
information infrastructure in the United States is owned and operated  
by the private sector. So let me be very clear: My administration will  
not dictate security standards for private companies. On the contrary,  
we will collaborate with industry to find technology solutions that  
ensure our security and promote prosperity.

Fourth, we will continue to invest in the cutting-edge research and  
development necessary for the innovation and discovery we need to meet  
the digital challenges of our time. And that's why my administration  
is making major investments in our information infrastructure: laying  
broadband lines to every corner of America; building a smart electric  
grid to deliver energy more efficiently; pursuing a next generation of  
air traffic control systems; and moving to electronic health records,  
with privacy protections, to reduce costs and save lives.

And finally, we will begin a national campaign to promote  
cybersecurity awareness and digital literacy from our boardrooms to  
our classrooms, and to build a digital workforce for the 21st century.  
And that's why we're making a new commitment to education in math and  
science, and historic investments in science and research and  
development. Because it's not enough for our children and students to  
master today's technologies -- social networking and e-mailing and  
texting and blogging -- we need them to pioneer the technologies that  
will allow us to work effectively through these new media and allow us  
to prosper in the future. So these are the things we will do.

Let me also be clear about what we will not do. Our pursuit of  
cybersecurity will not -- I repeat, will not include -- monitoring  
private sector networks or Internet traffic. We will preserve and  
protect the personal privacy and civil liberties that we cherish as  
Americans. Indeed, I remain firmly committed to net neutrality so we  
can keep the Internet as it should be -- open and free.

The task I have described will not be easy. Some 1.5 billion people  
around the world are already online, and more are logging on every  
day. Groups and governments are sharpening their cyber capabilities.  
Protecting our prosperity and security in this globalized world is  
going to be a long, difficult struggle demanding patience and  
persistence over many years.

But we need to remember: We're only at the beginning. The epochs of  
history are long -- the Agricultural Revolution; the Industrial  
Revolution. By comparison, our Information Age is still in its  
infancy. We're only at Web 2.0. Now our virtual world is going viral.  
And we've only just begun to explore the next generation of  
technologies that will transform our lives in ways we can't even begin  
to imagine.

So a new world awaits -- a world of greater security and greater  
potential prosperity -- if we reach for it, if we lead. So long as I'm  
President of the United States, we will do just that. And the United  
States -- the nation that invented the Internet, that launched an  
information revolution, that transformed the world -- will do what we  
did in the 20th century and lead once more in the 21st.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.)