FC: Congress publishes father-knows-best "cybersecurity" report

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Congress' Joint Economic Committee published a report this afternoon on 
"cyber-security:
http://www.house.gov/jec/security.pdf

Skip the introduction; it's bland and repetitive. ("Interdependencies require
us to think differently about security!")

The essays themselves are more interesting: Not for what they say, but for 
how they say it. The report is an excellent example of the type of 
Father-knows-best thinking Washingtonians sometimes lapse into -- where 
technocrats proclaim their certitude about various societal woes and bemoan 
(a) their budgets, (b) their legal authority, (c) that private sector 
businesses aren't sufficiently compliant and/or deferential. All the essay 
authors, based on my quick read, are current or former government-natsec 
types, and I'd wager most have active security clearances.

Note in the press release below four horsemen of the infocalypse are 
galloping hard into the fray ("hackers, software pirates, child 
pornographers and cyber terrorists", frets Rep. Lamar Smith). Missing are 
the drug smugglers and money launderers...

Don't get me wrong; many of the recommendations make sense. Who wouldn't 
agree that government infosecurity is laughable and in need of some serious 
fixing? Some of the other ideas:

* A "FANNIE MAE" for network security: "Toward that end, to maximize 
business confidence, a government-sponsored enterprise, managed as an 
independent corporation, should be considered..."
* A cyber-czar, move over Richard Clarke: "We need to appoint a senior 
government official with clout..."
* Corporate executives are slow-witted blokes who need things explained 
sloooowly: "Only when the threats to critical infrastructure are translated 
into business terms that corporate boards and senior management understand..."
* Concern about "market failures": "The government must explore other 
options to prevent market failures from posing an unacceptable risk to the 
economic and national security of the United States..."
* Limiting annonymity? "Sometimes anonymous environment... We must revisit 
our legal, economic, and social regimes... Ensure the effectiveness of law 
enforcement..."
* X-Files fodder: "consider emulating FEMA..."

-Declan

---

For Immediate Release
Press Release #107-90
May 29, 2002
Contact: Christopher Frenze
         Executive Director
         (202) 224-5171

NEW JEC COMPENDIUM EXAMINES CYBERTERRORIST THREAT

WASHINGTON, D.C.  A variety of security issues related to high technology 
is examined by leading experts in a new Joint Economic Committee compendium 
released today, Security in the Information Age: New Challenges, New 
Strategies.

"These studies build on previous JEC hearings on a number of security 
issues related to high technology," Chairman Jim Saxton said.  "These 
studies examine how cyber security has become such an important component 
of our economic and national security, and the implications for economic 
and security policy.  I would like to thank Senator Robert Bennett for his 
interest in this issue, and for his role in assembling the compendium of 
papers the Committee is releasing today," Saxton concluded.

"In bringing us an exciting new era of technology, the Information Age has 
also given us a new set of security challenges," Senator Bennett 
said.  "The primary message of today's report is that we must think 
differently about national security in the new networked world.  As some 
would say, 'we're not in Kansas anymore.'

"I commend Governor Ridge for his outstanding work to develop a national 
strategy and his recognition of the importance of the private sector in 
this process.  I hope our report from the JEC will be of value in this 
effort," said Bennett.

"Just as mechanization was responsible for the Industrial Revolution, 
technology is the foundation of our new economy," Congressman Lamar Smith 
said.  "The advantages of technology are obvious and so are the 
disadvantages.  The Web is a fount of information, but also a tool for 
hackers, software pirates, child pornographers and cyber terrorists.  To 
sustain our economic growth, we must secure our information networks and 
ensure that technology grows, not crime."

For a copy of the study, please visit the JEC website at www.house.gov/jec      

###




-------------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------