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White House cyberdefense plan gets mixed reaction
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September 18, 2002 (Computerworld) -- The White House's National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, released today in draft form, was barely two hours old when many private-sector experts were suggesting dentures to replace the teeth that had been ripped from its pages.
"Anything that could have made a difference was removed at the last minute," said the president of a major security consulting firm who requested anonymity.
While most of those present at the unveiling ceremony today at Stanford University applauded the government's effort to raise awareness of security issues, and its willingness to take a leadership role, many were surprised by the lack of tough enforcement language in the document. In fact, many private-sector experts and a White House source acknowledged that major changes, such as the removal of "politically sensitive language," were made to the plan in the last 24 hours of preparation.
"What happened here?" asked Wyatt Starnes, CEO of Tripwire Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based global IT security company. "We thought we were going to get something concrete. They probably underestimated the politics."
For example, although the strategy calls on corporate CEOs to establish enterprise security councils to integrate cybersecurity, physical security and privacy into their daily operations -- and urges major Internet service providers to adopt a "code of good conduct" governing their cybersecurity operations -- real change in the private sector remains voluntary.
Russ Cooper, surgeon general of TruSecure Corp. in Herndon, Va., is not happy with the strategy as it currently exists. In particular, Cooper said the administration has removed language that would have offered a definition of liability and an assignment of responsibility for Internet security.
"It's time that the government mandates some action be taken," said Cooper. "I'd like to see ISPs be told that it is illegal to carry identified Internet attack traffic. But I don't see anything similar or at that level in what they're proposing."
James Lewis, director of the Council on Technology and Public Policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, agreed that linking real change in cybersecurity to a voluntary system can't work in the long run.
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