[Infowarrior] - WH Announces the Partnership for Excellence in American Cybersecurity

[Richard Forno]

Finally, some fresh thinking on the matter.... I could very easily stand behind this effort.  --- rick


http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/04/01/press-release-national-cybersecurity-excellence-partnership


THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
____________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release April 1, 2011

White House Announces the Partnership for Excellence in American Cybersecurity

Washington, DC - Vice President Joe Biden announced today that President Obama has established the National Partnership for Excellence in American Cybersecurity to help address America’s growing cybersecurity concerns.

"The Federal government has the responsibility to protect and defend the country, and all levels of government have the responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of their citizens. The private sector, however, designs, builds, owns, and operates most of the network infrastructures that support government and private users alike. Industry and governments share the responsibility for the security and reliability of the infrastructure and the transactions that take place on it and should work closely together to address these interdependencies,” said the Vice President.

The Partnership will consist of representatives from companies that provide information technology products, services, and consumer electronics, small businesses, non-profit organizations, and academia along with consultative participation from selected federal agencies including the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security. The goal of the Partnership is to develop actionable recommendations, based on new thinking, fresh ideas, and research suggestions, that can help government and the private sector better protect their critical information resources. The Chairman for the Partnership will be named at a future date.

In prepared remarks, President Obama acknowledged that "we are quite convinced that our vulnerabilities are increasing steadily while the costs associated with an effective attack continue to drop. What is more, the investments required to improve the situation are still relatively modest, but will rise if we procrastinate. We should attend to our critical foundations before the storm arrives, not after: Waiting for disaster will prove as expensive as it is irresponsible.”

Quoting the 2009 White House Cybersecurity Policy Review, the President added that “it is the fundamental responsibility of our government to address strategic vulnerabilities in cyberspace and ensure that the United States and the world realize the full potential of the information technology revolution. The Nation’s approach to cybersecurity over the past 15 years has failed to keep pace with the threat.”

The Administration and Commission realize that due to the limited amount of federal funding available during this period of national stringency it is not practical to rediscover and report on the challenges facing American cybersecurity. Therefore, since the situation remains fairly the same as it was at the time, the Partnership will re-release the 1997 Presidential Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection (PCCIP) report with a new logo, modern typeface, and updated list of involved organizations.  The federal funds saved by not rediscovering these previously published findings and frequently repeated recommendations will be used instead by the Partnership to convene a series of town hall meetings in late 2011 that will bring together cybersecurity professionals, researchers, and pundits to reflect on exactly how successful the Nation has been in effectively addressing these oft-cited concerns pertaining to the American homeland. 

Contact: April Fueul (202) 456-1414 or april.fueul at eop3.whitehouse.gov.