September 2009

Trade groups outline cybersecurity bill concerns

Technology trade groups and a prominent high-tech watchdog are worried that recent tweaks to a broad cybersecurity bill introduced in April by Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) do not alleviate concerns about proposed government standard-setting powers, which they say could impede innovation. The Business Software Alliance and TechAmerica, which represent Cisco Systems, IBM, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and more than 1,000 other firms, joined the Center for Democracy and Technology in urging Rockefeller's staff to alter language that would give the National Institute of Standards and Technology a major role in how IT systems are designed. The original bill called for NIST to formulate standards for measuring software security for IT components commonly used in critical networks and create common configurations of security settings for operating system software. Under that version, the Commerce Department, which houses NIST, would be required to enforce manufacturers' compliance with those standards. A retooled draft softens the language by requiring of NIST "measurable and audit" risk metrics and best practices. Each operator of a critical network would have to report the results of audits that evaluate compliance, which critics believe would allow NIST to impose software and network standards on companies. CDT senior counsel Greg Nojeim said today the text could result in guidance that is "much too granular."

Pressure builds on Obama to appoint cybersecurity coordinator

The co-chairmen of the House Cybersecurity Caucus are urging President Barack Obama to quickly make good on his pledge to appoint a cybersecurity coordinator. Reps James Langevin (D-RI) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a recent letter to the president that they were pleased to see progress on creating a comprehensive national security strategy for cyberspace. However, they said they were "deeply concerned by the delay" in coordinating the strategy from the White House. On May 29, President Obama said he would set up a new White House cybersecurity office to be led by a coordinator whom he will select and depend on for all matters relating to cybersecurity. In December, the influential Center for Strategic and International Studies' Cybersecurity Commission, of which Reps Langevin and McCaul also serve as co-chairmen, recommended creating a White House cybersecurity office. The congressman said in their letter that it's time to establish the office "with the proper authorities to manage the complex and critical mission of securing our nation's networks."

Security Pros Are Focused on the Wrong Threats

Corporate information technology departments are prioritizing the wrong threats to their computer systems, focusing on old problems and leaving their companies open to a raft of new cyberattacks aiming at private customer and corporate information. That is the finding of a new biannual report from the SANS Institute, a training organization for computer security professionals, whose senior staff weighed two sets of data that have not been rigorously compared to date: data on the most common attacks hitting corporate networks and data on which vulnerabilities are most prevalent on company networks. TippingPoint, an intrusion-prevention technology company, provided the attack data, collected during its defense of 6,000 organizations during the first six months of the year, while Qualys, a vulnerability-management company, provided data on the most common security holes based on its analysis of nine million customer computers. The less critical risks are flaws in the Windows operating system. While these bugs were the No. 1 problem for everyone on the Internet not long ago, times have changed.

Blair sets intel goals, ranks cybersecurity high

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair today unveiled an overarching strategy for the nation's intelligence agencies, which for the first time lists cybersecurity and counterintelligence as top mission priorities. The 24-page National Intelligence Strategy identifies the intelligence community's goals and objectives for the next four years. Blair said in a conference call with reporters that the intelligence community has developed "a good understanding" of the complexities and dynamics of the international environment, from nation-states such as Iran and Russia to transnational criminal and terrorist groups. Therefore, the strategy does not contain language that looks backward, such as referring to the international community in "post-Cold War" terms. Blair said the language is intended to look forward.

Apps.gov Launched

Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra has launched Apps.gov to help continue the President's initiative to lower the cost of government operations while driving innovation within government. Apps.gov is an online storefront for federal agencies to quickly browse and purchase cloud-based IT services, for productivity, collaboration, and efficiency. Cloud computing is the next generation of IT in which data and applications will be housed centrally and accessible anywhere and anytime by a various devices (this is opposed to the current model where applications and most data is housed on individual devices). By consolidating available services, Apps.gov is a one-stop source for cloud services - an innovation that not only can change how IT operates, but also save taxpayer dollars in the process.

Hey NTIA: Why Can't You Be More Transparent?

[Commentary] Why can't the National telecommunications and Information Administration's handling of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program be more transparent? Why can't we know who the reviewers are so the public can vet them for conflicts of interest and competency? Why can't we know what's going on and where things are at in the process? Officially we have no idea how many reviewers have been vetted, nor if they've even started the initial vetting of applications. Apparently, 600 reviewers have made it past the initial vetting and that 400 applications have been paneled so far. The thing they seem to not be realizing from a PR perspective is that by not saying anything all of us out in the public that have concerns about how things are going will assume the worst. Without NTIA supplying a narrative about their progress, they leave open their actions to interpretation.

The Problem With America's Do-Nothing Broadband Attitudes/Policies

[Commentary] Our central challenge to crafting effective broadband policies is the do-nothing attitudes of most of America's broadband players. On one side you have incumbents, private operators with existing network assets that for the most part are hugely profitable in today's broadband paradigm. Their do-nothing attitude stems logically from the perspective of not wanting to disrupt the good thing that they've got going. The only changes they seek are those that improve their bottom line, and they'll fight anything that they perceive as potentially harming their profitability. On the other side you have public interest groups, organizations dedicated to making sure America's broadband infrastructure supports the needs of its citizens. These entities tend to not be satisfied with the state of today's broadband, instead wanting bold, aspirational goals to be set, the kind that can help America recapture its position among the world's broadband leaders. But while they want to see lots of action happen, their do-nothing attitude stems from the fact that the big goals they espouse rarely come with specific plans for how to achieve them. Also, they resist any changes that are perceived to increase the profitability of incumbent providers since they consider them at fault of America's current broadband plight.

Report of the US Broadband Coalition on a National Broadband Strategy

On September 24, the US Broadband Coalition - a broad and diverse array of 160 organizations - will issue a report that identifies the key issues and a range of policy options that the U.S. should consider in determining its broadband future. The report is especially relevant and timely because the Federal Communications Commission must submit a national broadband plan to Congress by February 2010. The Coalition's membership includes representatives of many prominent communications providers, high technology companies, manufacturers, consumers, labor unions, public interest groups, educators, state and local governments, utilities, content providers and other groups concerned about America's broadband future.

FCC Sends Staffers To Asia To Discuss Broadband

The Federal Communications Commission has dispatched two members of the team drafting a National Broadband Plan to talk to regulators, academics, think tanks and private entities overseas. The first of what might be more than one trip took the team to Tokyo, Korea, and now Singapore, according to an FCC spokesperson.

Recession hasn't slowed global Internet traffic

Not even the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression could slow the ongoing explosion of traffic over international Internet connections, and service providers are still building to accommodate it. The world economy slid into crisis about a year ago, crippled by key events such as the bankruptcy filing by investment bank Lehman Brothers, which occurred one year ago Tuesday. But between mid-2008 and mid-2009, the volume of Internet traffic between countries has actually grown faster than the prior year, according to research company Telegeography. International Internet traffic has grown at 79 percent since last year, up from 61% in 2008, a study released Monday found, according to a Telegeography press release. The study focused on links between, rather than within, countries.

Benton

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