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Last week, the new Secretary for Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff announced a number of changes in the organization of the department, not the least of which was the much needed Assistant Secretary of Cyber and Telecommunications Security. The new position will focus on security in the infrastructure of industries. It's a pretty broad spectrum though. Who does Secretary Chertoff think will be capable and will they be able to handle such a big task that's always changing?
Editor's Note: Michael Chertoff has recently changed the Department for Homeland Security, but has failed to appoint an assistant to the Secretary of Cyber and Telecommunications Security. Can one man do this job alone? Discuss at WebProWorld.
The position will be a difficult job indeed. Not only will the candidate need to be darn near brilliant and a master at cutting edge technology in computers and telecommunications in general but they will need to be an effective administrator to the organization and be able to react lightning fast as security threats arise.
 Right now, there are a number of private/public/government entities working to support and protect the cyber/telecommunication infrastructure. This is absolutely crucial, primarily because nearly the entire nation is logged into the Internet in some form or another. Private users in the home, retail businesses of all scales, banks, corporations and even the Department of Defense all have ties into the Internet and all have been hacked, some pretty recently.
Groups like the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA) and the SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security (SANS) Institute work towards protecting that infrastructure. A new organization called the Cyber Incident Detection & Data Analysis Center (CIDDAC). CIDDAC, based out of the University of Pennsylvania is working on a automated cyber attack-reporting infrastructure to protect the national cyber infrastructure. There are other organizations out there and then comes the private companies.
Companies like Symantec and McAfee are common household names because they sit on the shelves at OfficeMax but cyber security cover a lot more ground than that too. Firms like Secunia or Blue Security (both operate outside the U.S.) or even the one man operations like Tom Ferris at Security Protocols all have a part to play in this new cyber security initiative and it's going to take some real organizations to put all these together.
The scope for this job is incredibly broad because of all the ground that must be covered. Hacked websites, browser vulnerabilities, stolen credit card information, spam, spyware and even Windows vulnerabilities are relevant because they put the vast network running throughout the U.S. and the world at risk. One can only hope the new Secretary of Homeland Security grasps the scope of this and gets a capable man to do the job and grants him the resources to handle many of these.
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In some ways the job might be as extraordinarily difficult as it may seem. The real effort will come from coordinating all these different enterprises into one large base of operations and protecting the private firms while getting optimum usage from their resources.
One name being floated for this new, tough job is a gentleman named Dr. Simon Szykman. Szykman has a history with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He was the Director of Cyber Security R&D with the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. He lead the plans for and programs in support of the DHS regarding cyber security. He's also worked in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, serving as a senior policy analyst covering cyber security, IT R&D and high-end computing. Right now, he runs the National Coordination Office (NCO) for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD). He's also quite astute at Diplomacy.
One important thing Syzkman or whoever gets the new job will have to address is scope and what exactly this job will entail. What exactly will this cover. As credit card companies get hacked and online retailers get extorted by denial of service, these topics are certainly just as relevant to the protection of America as protecting military sites.
About the Author:
John Stith is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering the latest security issues. |
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