[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       isn
Subject:    [ISN] Clinton to Outline Cyberthreat Policy
From:       mea culpa <jericho () dimensional ! com>
Date:       1998-05-22 20:39:29
[Download RAW message or body]


Forwarded From: Aleph One <aleph1@nationwide.net>

http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,22400,00.html?st.ne.ni.lh

   Clinton to outline cyberthreat policy
   By Tim Clark
   Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM
   May 21, 1998, 5:15 p.m. PT
   
   In a commencement speech at the U.S. Naval Academy tomorrow,
   President Clinton is expected to highlight cyberthreats to the
   nation's electronic infrastructure, both from deliberate sabotage and
   from accidents such as the satellite outage that silenced pagers
   across the nation this week.
   
   Clinton also is expected to outline two new security directives, one
   aimed at traditional terrorism and the other at cyberthreats. The
   cyberthreats directive follows last year's report from the
   Presidential Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection.
   
   But controversy has emerged See roundup: Washington focuses on
   tech, Net over the policy and how much authority it would give the
   FBI and Justice Department vs. a broader public-private sector
   effort that the presidential commission had urged.
   
   "Clinton will announce a new policy for cyberterrorism based on the
   recommendations of the commission, stressing the fact that we need
   private-sector help to solve this problem, since the private sector
   owns 80 to 90 percent of the nation's infrastructure," said P. Dennis
   LeNard Jr., deputy public affairs officer at PCCIP. Under the new
   policy, that agency will become the Critical Infrastructure Assurance
   Office, or CIAO.
   
   Clinton also is expected to order federal agencies to come up with a
   plan within three to five years that identifies vulnerabilities of the
   nation's infrastructure and responses to attacks as well as creating a
   plan to reconstitute the U.S. defense system and economy if a
   cyberattack succeeds, said a former White House staffer familiar with
   Clinton's speech.
   
   But James Adams, chief executive of United Press International
   (UPI), blasted the plan in a speech earlier this week, saying the
   prominent roles given the FBI and Justice Department would prove
   unworkable and could threaten civil liberties.
   
   "We have two of the most inert bureaucracies trying to control and
   constrain probably the most energetic and dynamic sector of the
   private economy," Adams said in an interview today. "This simply
   doesn't make sense. You actually need the private sector to say, 'We
   hear what you say, and here's how it should work.'"
   
   LeNard said the president has multiple options and may not select such
   a strong role for law enforcement on the issue.
   
   However, Attorney General Janet Reno in February outlined plans
   for an FBI-run National Infrastructure Protection Center to counter
   hackers, crackers, and others who commit computer crimes.
   
   Clinton also may name National Security Council staffer Richard
   Clarke, a former assistant secretary of state, as the White
   House-based coordinator of both the cyberthreat initiative and a
   broader antiterrorist effort, which also is part of Clinton's
   commencement address, according to reports today in the Baltimore
   Sun and the Los Angeles Times.
   
   The former White House staffer said political infighting may mean
   Clarke will not be appointed tomorrow and emphasized that Clarke would
   be a coordinator, not a cyberthreat "czar."
   
   "He will work with Cabinet-level people to assure that agencies find
   their own vulnerabilities," said the official, who asked not to be
   identified.
   
   The same official outlined the essentials of Clinton's policy--subject
   to the last-minute changes for which the president is famous.
   
   Reno's NIPC, which would include intelligence and military agencies,
   would work with local law enforcement to monitor classified and public
   information on vulnerabilities and threats.
   
   A separate center for information-sharing and analysis would be
   developed with the business community to look at vulnerabilities in
   the privately owned infrastructure--satellite systems, power grids,
   telecommunications, water systems, and the like. It also would include
   a broad public education campaign.
   
   How to share information between private industry on one side and law
   enforcement and intelligence agencies on the other remains a sticky
   issue.
   
   "The Department of Justice is not keen on sharing information that
   could lead to criminal prosecutions," the official said. "The private
   sector does not trust the FBI, and the FBI doesn't want to give out
   secrets. They're afraid that if they share information, they may
   someday have to testify in court."
   

-o-
Subscribe: mail majordomo@sekurity.org with "subscribe isn".
Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]

[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]