Industry lobbies to secure CIAO funding

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/1023/web-ciao-10-23-00.asp

BY Diane Frank
10/20/2000

Applying pressure where agencies cannot, 11 private-sector
organizations called on Congress this week to fully fund the Critical
Infrastructure Assurance Office for its continuing leadership of
government and industry information security efforts.

"If the CIAO is not funded adequately, it will set back the nations
critical infrastructure strategic development and the public-private
cooperation that the agency has so ably facilitated," the letter
states. "The CIAO has worked hard to gain the trust of industry for
the benefit of the economic security of the U.S., and the rewards of
this service are just beginning to come to fruition."

The CIAO, housed at the Commerce Department, has worked closely with
industry, which owns 90 percent of the United States infrastructure,
to develop awareness programs, information-sharing mechanisms and
partnerships with the federal government.

Although agencies are not allowed to lobby for money from Congress
past their initial request, members of the CIAO, including director
John Tritak, have encouraged industry to work with Congress. The
letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) this week
by 11 organizations is the first sign that the private sector is
taking up the challenge.

Signatories include Cisco Systems Inc., Electronic Data Systems Corp.,
Microsoft Corp. and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The CIAO has been the point organization for helping federal agencies
and commercial entities develop security plans under Presidential
Decision Directive 63, which requires the protection of systems that
support the nations critical infrastructure. The office also
coordinated the development of the National Plan for Information
Systems Protection, released in January this year.

President Clintons budget request to Congress included $6.7 million to
keep the CIAO running through fiscal 2001, but that and many other
governmentwide security initiatives are in danger of not being
included in the final cut of the appropriations bills over the next
few weeks.


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