Is cybersecurity initiative enough
A recent report urges the incoming Obama administration to establish an office in the White House dedicated to securing cyberspace.
Shawn Henry, an FBI assistant director who serves as a representative to the Bush administration’s multiyear, multibillion-dollar Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, said the CNCI has provided a strategy for tackling cyber crime threats.
Under the initiative, agencies have come together and are “rowing in the same direction” for the first time during his experience in this field, he said.
“I see 2009 as probably the most important time period for us because it is going to be total execution of that strategy,” Henry said.
However, last month, the high-profile Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency released a report urging the incoming Obama administration to establish an office in the White House dedicated to securing cyberspace.
That office, which would have a direct role in crafting a new strategy for securing cyberspace that is in part focused on international engagement, would go beyond CNCI’s work, according to the report.
About the Author
Ben Bain is a reporter for Federal Computer Week.