Computer experts hail Obama's plan for 'cyber tsar'
May 30, 2009 COMPUTER security specialists have hailed US President Barack Obama's plan for a national cyber defenc coordinator, calling the move a laudable first step on a tough road.
Obama said he would name a White House “cyber tsar” to deter and defend against mounting criminal, espionage and hacker attacks on US government and private computer networks.
“We all know we are under attack and we are going to need to respond when there is an issue,” said Symantec chief executive Enrique Salem, who was at the White House for Obama's announcement yesterday.
“This is the beginning of a long journey. It's got to continue to get the president's attention and get the right budget. It can't just be an announcement today without follow through.”
While enthusiastic that Obama is making cyber security an unprecedented presidential priority, computer defenders bore in mind that his speech lacked specifics and did not mention when a cyber coordinator will be named.
“There are still a lot of unanswered questions,” said Trend Micro threat researcher Paul Ferguson.
“There needs to be a lot more collaboration from a public-private sector perspective; it is a multi-stakeholder approach to battling cyber crime. I don't envy the person that gets the job because it will be really tough.”
Questions yet to be answered include what kind of authority Obama's cyber security coordinator will have to ensure cooperation and compliance among government agencies, contractors, and private businesses.
“It's like the government is trying to figure this out on the fly,” said Jeff Moss, who runs Black Hat computer security conferences and DefCon, the world's most notorious annual gathering of hackers.
“It sets the right tone, but is light on details right now. Is this going to be a position with no budget and no intelligence gathering capabilities that sits in the middle asking for cooperation?”
It is important that Obama appoint a cyber security coordinator with a strong technical background and a deep understanding of the issues, according to Salem, adding it would be best the appointment was made within 90 days.
“They have a tough row to hoe,” Ferguson said of whoever is appointed to the post. “I hope they have sufficient powers to produce some mandates.”
A US cyber coordinator will face the challenge of balancing network security with civil liberties and privacy, according to Moss.
“How can you defend your networks without watching them?” Moss asked rhetorically.
“Can you watch government networks and not private networks that the US economy depends on? If a private network is hacked to attack the government, you are going to follow the trail back.”
US trade group TechAmerica called the 60-Day Cyber Security Review released by Obama's administration yesterday an “historic step” toward protecting US critical infrastructure against cyber attack.
“Protecting America from a digital 9/11 requires presidential involvement, a robust national strategy, high-level White House staff and close cooperation with the private sector,” said TechAmerica president Phil Bond.
“President Obama understands the challenge and today committed himself and his administration to meeting that challenge.”
More than 80 percent of US critical infrastructure such as utility lines and computer networks are privately owned and operated but their defense calls for partnerships with government agencies, according to Bond.
“Today marks the beginning of a new era of White House leadership in cybersecurity,” said Phyllis Schneck, vice president at computer security firm McAfee.
“We think this is a great first step, but there is even more hard work to be done. Cyber threats are very real, ongoing, and very dangerous.”
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