Security adviser warns of cyberthreats

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

Forwarded from: William Knowles <wk () c4i org>

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0721/web-secure-07-23-03.asp

By Judi Hasson 
July 23, 2003 

Officials must still figure out how to fully secure the nation's 
critical infrastructure against cyber attacks, a top homeland security 
adviser said Tuesday.

General John Gordon, retired lieutenant general from the U.S. Air 
Force, presidential assistant and adviser to the Homeland Security 
Council, said attacks over electronic networks might become a threat 
as great as weapons of mass destruction.

"It's serious. It's real. It's upon us," Gordon told a meeting of the 
National Infrastructure Advisory Council in Washington, D.C. "What we 
really see in this open world is the testing of cyber weapons 
everyday."

The council, which consists of a gathering of industry and government 
officials, is expected to issue recommendations for tougher 
information security protections in October. It is struggling to 
figure out how to protect both public and private facilities and 
networks.

One of the council's toughest challenges is determining what should be 
disclosed to private industry and the public and when it should do so, 
officials told the council. A working group, led by executives from 
Symantec Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc., said they are developing 
guidelines for government and industry.

Those disclosure guidelines should take national security needs into 
account, said Robert Liscouski, assistant secretary for Infrastructure 
Protection at the Homeland Security Department and a member of the 
council.
 
 

*==============================================================*
"Communications without intelligence is noise;  Intelligence
without communications is irrelevant." Gen Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
----------------------------------------------------------------
C4I.org - Computer Security, & Intelligence - http://www.c4i.org
================================================================
Help C4I.org with a donation: http://www.c4i.org/contribute.html
*==============================================================*



-
ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org

To unsubscribe email majordomo () attrition org with 'unsubscribe isn'
in the BODY of the mail.