A little over two months ago, President Barack Obama appointed Melissa Hathaway as the acting senior director for cyberspace for the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council. Her primary task, the president said, was a two-month review of the nation’s cybersecurity readiness and to propose improvements.
Hathaway handed in her report last Friday and, although it has not been made public, she has begun a campaign to point out significant cyber threats facing the nation. Speaking Wednesday at the 2009 RSA Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Hathaway offered a stark assessment of the nation’s vulnerability.
“We have witnessed countless intrusions,” Hathaway said, “that have allowed criminals to steal hundreds of millions of dollars and allowed nation-states and others to steal intellectual property and sensitive military information.” Among other things, she cited the recent discovery of copies of Marine 1 plans on peer-to-peer networks and the intrusions into computers holding top-secret data about the nation’s newest fighter jet.
Demonstrating a sense of humor, Hathaway was ushered onstage to the strains of the Mission Impossible theme, as a gravelly voice read her long list of accomplishments and responsibilities over the public-address system.
No Easy Solutions
Improving the nation’s cybersecurity will be a complicated and difficult task. There are a number of different constituencies involved in the cybersecurity field within the federal government, including the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Agency, and the FBI.
Moreover, private companies — which have their own cybersecurity issues — are increasingly vocal in their concern that a stricter approach to cybersecurity by the federal government could limit creativity and innovation in the commercial sector.
Added to the mix is Congress, which is actively considering legislation aimed at revamping the nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure. Sens. Olympia Snow (R-Maine) and John Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), have introduced two bills…