Best Blogs



windows software hardware security outsourcing management industries

INDUSTRIES |   UTILITIES
Presidential Committee Criticizes IT Infrastructure Security
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
PRINT THIS ARTICLE
DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE WRITE TO AN EDITOR

 
The country's IT infrastructure is highly vulnerable to attack by terrorists and cybercriminals, according to a report that also recommends several remedies.
By Larry Greenemeier
InformationWeek


 
The President's IT Advisory Committee on Friday released the results of a report criticizing the country's IT infrastructure as highly vulnerable to attack by terrorists and cybercriminals. The situation, however, can be remedied through an increased focus on cybersecurity research and development and a rapid transfer of new technologies to the private sector, according to the report, titled "Cyber Security: A Crisis Of Prioritization."

"The IT infrastructure is highly vulnerable to premeditated attacks with potentially catastrophic effects," committee chair Marc Benioff and co-chair Edward Lazowska wrote in a Feb. 28 letter to President Bush. This infrastructure includes the public Internet as well as power grids, air-traffic-control systems, financial systems, and military and intelligence systems, they add. Benioff is the CEO of Salesforce.com Inc., and Lazowska is chair of the University of Washington's computer-science and engineering department.

The report acknowledges that the proliferation of network-based communication, commerce, and physical infrastructure management has been a boon to productivity in recent years, but it also points to this reliance on networks as a major security liability. "Today, it is possible for a malicious agent to penetrate millions of computers around the world in a matter of minutes, exploiting those machines to attack the nation's critical infrastructure, penetrate sensitive systems, and steal valuable data," the report says.

All hope is not lost. The committee, appointed by the president and comprised of IT leaders and academia, makes four key recommendations to help curb security exposures and provide long-term IT infrastructure stability. The first is to increase federal support for fundamental research in civilian cybersecurity by $90 million annually at the National Science Foundation and by "substantial amounts" at agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Department of Homeland Security. This funding should specifically address the 10 high-priority areas identified by the committee, including authentication, protocols governing the Internet's operation, and cyberforensics.

The second recommendation is for the government to intensify federal efforts to promote recruitment and retention of cybersecurity researchers and students at research universities, with an aim of doubling this profession's numbers by the end of the decade. The committee estimates there are less than 250 cybersecurity or cyberassurance specialists working today at U.S. academic institutions.

The third recommendation is to provide increased support for the rapid transfer of federally developed, cutting-edge cybersecurity technologies to the private sector. The committee found that cybersecurity technology transfer efforts aren't adequate to successfully move the fruits of government research into private-sector practices and products.

The committee's final recommendation is that the government do a better job of coordinating cybersecurity R&D. This lets individual agencies work in a vacuum, without considering the bigger cybersecurity picture. The committee recommends that the Interagency Working Group on Critical Information Infrastructure Protection become the focal point for coordinating federal cybersecurity R&D efforts.





CURRENT ISSUE
View all stories from our current issue

View stories from past issues
sorted by date.

Photo of Steve Gelfound, director of IT at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by David Deal
smallcover
RELATED REPORTS
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE
PRINT THIS ARTICLE
DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE
LICENSE THIS ARTICLE


InformationWeek Marketplace (Sponsored Links)
Looking for Dual Xeon Managed Servers?
Interland offers 100% uptime, 24/7 Expert Tech Support featuring Linux or Windows IBM eServers with 1hr hardware replacement guaranteed.
Managed Servers, Fanatical Support
& More at Rackspace! 0% Downtime
Reduce TCO - consolidate remote location servers
DiskSites' WAFS solutions are used globally to consolidate servers out of remote locations and into the enterprise datacenter. Minimize your remote IT footprint to reduce your TCO while increasing your control and management capabilities.
Bowne Global Solutions ý Customized Language Servi
No matter what your language service needs are, we can help! Our range of services includes; Translation, Technical Writing, Content Creation, Cultural Assessments & much more! Request more information today!
Anywhere System Admin: RemotelyAnywhere
RemotelyAnywhere is the tool for managing systems inside and outside your LAN. Deploys quickly, monitors systems. Use HTML support toolset or remote control. Access with console, browser or PDA. Register for free 30-day trial.

Buy a Link Now




Vendor partners key to small biz IT success
A compendium of information on how small business owners
and employees can make the most of their IT resources.
Experts say pure IP communications solutions best
An expert forum designed to discuss the current trends and
advances in IP communications.
Live TechWebCasts: Learn from Experts
Featuring the perspectives of award-winning CMP editors
and the views of the leading technology vendors.

RELATED STORIES
Can Business And Government Speak The Same Language?

Homeland Security Debuts Pilot For Critical Infrastructure

Homeland Security Needs Public-Private Cooperation


RELATED CONTENT

Linux Outlook

Triple Threat: Spam, Spyware, And Adware

Outlook for 2005

RELATED REPORTS
Advertisement






DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
E-BUSINESS
CRM
DATABASES
ERP
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
COLLABORATION
COMPLIANCE