Computerworld
Quick Menu
Search



Ads by TechWords

See your link here


Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Finance
Security
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
More E-Mail Newsletters 
Computerworld 2007Subscribe to Computerworld
40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.

Clarke: Homeland security revamp to help cybersecurity

Patrick Thibodeau   Today’s Top Stories   or  Other Security Stories  
 

Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

June 10, 2002 (Computerworld) -- RESTON, Va. -- White House cybersecurity chief Richard Clarke said today that a plan to reshuffle the federal government's cybercrime agencies into a new cabinet-level homeland security department will improve federal coordination with the private sector.
"It will concentrate our forces, it will concentrate the skilled staff that we have and will ensure better cooperation and better coordination both within the government and the private sector," said Clarke.
In a proposal outlined by President Bush late last week, the new department would include the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office. Both agencies work extensively with the private sector.
Clarke, speaking here at the Networked Economy Summit sponsored by George Mason University, also warned that the dangers posed by worms, viruses and system intrusions are as urgent as ever -- and on the rise.
"Digital Pearl Harbors are happening every day, they are happening to companies all across the country," he said. According to Clarke, such cyberincidents cost the economy $15 billion last year.
Clarke and other federal officials have been holding a series of meetings around the country to raise awareness and gather information for a planned national strategy due out by mid-September. That strategy, which is being developed with the help of industries representing critical sectors such as finance, energy and transportation, is intended to map out a plan for improving security protection.
But the government awareness campaign has also been "a little dirty," Clarke told his audience, many of whom work for IT companies in Northern Virginia.
In particular, federal officials have been going to private-sector companies and telling them to pressure vendors to improve security with this message: "Why aren't you using security offerings as a discriminator among the people from whom you buy?"
Clarke said he has also been meeting with insurance companies about writing cybersecurity insurance for firms that meet certain criteria.
A key goal is improving the security of federal agencies, which have frequently been found to be lacking by the congressional watchdog agency, the U.S. General Accounting Office.
In that regard, the Bush administration's proposed budget for next year includes $5 billion in new funding to improve security at federal agencies. Clarke said the private sector won't take the federal government seriously as long as the government itself has problems.
This was good news for the vendors at the conference.
"There is a tremendous opportunity for private-sector involvement in homeland security areas," said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), who predicted "billions of dollars" of new federal IT spending on homeland-related security.
The bulk of this new spending "is not going to new federal employee manpower, but is going to contractors, innovators, information technology companies," said Davis.
The proposed homeland office reorganization won the endorsement of one vendor, Jack London, chairman and CEO of CACI, a Northern Virginia-based IT firm. He said it will allow the government to produce "a single data picture of threats against our homeland."
But one technology effort that "should command early focus" is development of interoperable identification control systems that would allow federal agencies to work with law enforcement, as well as the private sector, to correlate potential terrorist activity and threats.
Virginia's economy relies heavily on the tech sector, which employs about 325,000 people in the state. It's also home to numerous military bases and network hubs that handle Internet traffic.
"Virginia is a target-rich state," said the state's governor, Mark Warner. "Literally, half of the Internet traffic in the world flows through Northern Virginia. A disruption to that traffic could have worldwide implications."







Print this Story Send Us Feedback E-mail this Story Digg! Digg this Story Slashdot this Story
"An approaching hurricane fortuitously recalls the famous statement on planning from Eisenhower. We should heed his words...." Read more...
Read more Security posts or See all Blogs
iPhone 3G owner sues Apple, AT&T over dropped calls, app crashes
Mozilla: Firefox is faster than Chrome
Upcoming Microsoft patch lineup could be 'massive,' says researcher
More top stories...
Microsoft explains Seinfeld-Windows TV ad: just a 'teaser'
Continuing coverage: Google's Chrome browser
Social Security numbers exposed on Iowa land-records Web site
Users of Windows XP SP3 who try out IE8 Beta 2 won't be able to uninstall either one under certain circumstances.
Google has gone from innovative upstart to fat-and-happy industry leader in what seems like record time. Preston Gralla explains.
Microsoft's latest beta of IE8 includes better tab management, new services such as Web Slices and Accelerators, and the new 'porn mode.'
These leading-edge graduate schools are moving at the pace of the IT workplace, delivering coursework that's relevant to today's IT professionals.
Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS.
Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready?
All Zones
Application Performance Zone
Business Continuity Zone
The File Data Management Zone
Security Management Zone
ITIL Best Practices Zone
The SAS Zone
Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone
Windows Protection Zone
Identity & Security Management Zone

Ads by TechWords

See your link here
From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center
From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center
Register for this complimentary live webcast today!
Go to the webcast 
Computerworld Executive Bulletin: Building a Robust Antivirus Defense
Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs.
(Source: MessageLabs) Antivirus software alone isn't enough to prevent today's speedy, sophisticated virus attacks. Security managers should consider multitiered approaches that include behavior scanning, appliances that check e-mail for worms, and restricting user access to dangerous Web sites. Download this Executive Bulletin (a $49.95 value) for free, compliments of MessageLabs, to learn more.
Download this executive briefing download
Online Security Issues in Regulated Industries
Download this research paper, free for a limited time, compliments of Webroot!
(Source: Webroot Software) In June 2008, Computerworld invited IT and business leaders to participate in a survey on online security initiatives at their organizations. The goal of the survey was to better understand Web and e-mail security issues faced today within the regulated education, financial services, government and health care industries. The following report represents top-line results of that survey.
Download this white paper go
White Papers
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
Death to PST: Hidden Cost of Email Mismanagement
Extend, Replace, or Convert; which is the best way forward for COBOL Applications?
The Trend from Unix to Linux in SAP Data Centers
View more whitepapers