Fergie's Tech Blog

Black Hat: Cloud Of Doubt Hovers Over Government Initiatives

Tim Wilson writes on Dark Reading:

Cyber czar, cyber schmar. If you're waiting for the government to take the lead in the cybersecurity industry, then you're going to have a long wait.

That was the consensus of cybersecurity experts here this week, including some former government officials and others who are still in prominent government positions. Their message: The security industry should get on with its work, regardless of what Congress and President Obama might (or might not) do.

"A lot of people [in government] don't really want to start any programs because they're afraid that a cyber czar will come in and change everything," said Marchus Sachs, executive director of national security and cyber policy at Verizon, volunteer director of the SANS Internet Storm Center, and a member of the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency. "I think it's a mistake to wait for the entrance of a cyber czar riding an elephant with a big parade behind. This country still doesn't have a comprehensive response plan for a cyberattack.

"I think we have to ask ourselves, 'Do we really need a cyber czar to do any of this?' Are we really that hopeless that we have to wait on some sort of second coming? The Internet is not run by one person. These problems are not going to be solved by one person."

posted by Fergie @ 8/03/2009 09:16:00 PM