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Chertoff cyber-security plan: who will fill the post?
By WDavidStephenson | April 9, 2008
In general, I’m in support of Sec. Chertoff’s new cyber-security plan: let’s not forget that cyber-threats can be of all stripes (terrorists, organized crime, state-sponsored groups, or individual hackers), that 85% of our critical infrastructure is in private hands (hence his call for coordination with the private sector, and that the threats range from the power grid to our financial system, so it’s critical that this issue receive attention at the highest level.
It’s also good to hear him say that a networked threat requires a networked response (hmm, where have we heard that before?).
However, what I’m really looking to see is the type of person selected to fill the job.
In my book, s/he is going to need to be more of a visionary (backed with deputies having the highest of skills) than technologist, because DHS — not to mention the government in general and industry as well, has tended to look at various aspects of the cyber-security challenge in isolation from each other, rather than pursue an initegrated strategy that attacks hacking, data integrity, identity and privacy protection, sloppy management (kinda undercuts these initiatives when so many federal agencies can’t even control unauthorized laptop use, doesn’t it?). There are no easy answers, but perhaps the right person can elevate this issue to the status and focus it deserves.
Technorati tags: homeland security DHS Department of Homeland Security e-gov e-government 2.0 e-government networked homeland security government IT government civil liberties privacy business continuity cyber-security cybersecurity Michael Chertoff
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