U.S. software-makers are improving the security of their products, but the country’s cyber infrastructure is still far from secure, according to comments by Richard Marshall, the Homeland Security Department’s director of Global Cybersecurity Management in the National Cybersecurity Division.
Marshall spoke this morning at FOSE, saying that, despite progress, laws are inadequate, education needs to be improved and the public and private sectors need to work together. GCN Editor-in-Chief Wyatt Kash was at Marshall’s talk and sending observations to Twitter. Other FOSE attendees also contributed to the flow of tweets.
According to their posts, Marshall said government can't solve the cyber problem alone, and neither can the private sector. It’s everyone’s job.
He also talked of the need for more secure software and of the need for academic centers of cyber excellence and training in all sciences/disciplines using the Internet.
Marshall discussed such security problems as the Defense Department’s purchase of counterfeit Cisco routers and the ongoing difficulties of dealing with logic bombs, back doors and other threats. He said laws currently are inadequate for dealing with these problems. He did, however, note that hackers are saying that U.S. software is getting harder to compromise.
Later, CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley talked about the broader political landscape. Among her points: The November elections will be the “first act” on the just-passed health care reform bill.
Keep up with more news from FOSE today via Twitter at @govcomputernews or take a peek at what other FOSE go-ers are talking about.
Posted on Mar 24, 2010 at 6:37 AM2 comments
The first keynote speeches at FOSE 2010 this morning presented an unusual mix of law enforcement and technology.
Bill Bratton, former police chief of Los Angeles, New York and Boston, talked about technology's role in police work and its likely role in the future. One Twitter follower says he discussed how partnerships, technology and accountability have led to great law enforcement success.
Several tweets from attendees also reported that military actions are becoming more like police work.
One poster noted that Bratton said he "gets approached by generals going to war because they understand it's a policing issue."
On the home front, another reports Bratton saying that police department have the know-how for cybersecurity but lack resources.
Meanwhile, Anthony Zuiker, creator and executive producer of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, discussed cross-platforming. One thing many people picked up: He said traditional media is dead, and that newspapers, magazines and TV must become more interactive. Another notes that "cross platform story telling is the future #FOSE keynote CSI creator. #Level26 is a good example. It's a book movie & a social site!"
More to come. And follow along on Twitter at
@govcomputernews or peek at the
conference's live feeds.
Posted on Mar 23, 2010 at 6:37 AM1 comments
As the Defense Department works to embrace social media, it's
weighing operational security against the increasing need to share
information – or else be rendered obsolete.
According to one
DOD official, the right policies will help the department evolve as a
reputable and up-to-date source of the information the public craves in
the era of the instant news cycle.
“With policy we can budget
for and facilitate expansion. We can train the troops better, and then
they can train their families. That’s good for the public,” said Jack
Holt, senior strategist for emerging media at the DOD’s Defense Media
Activity office.
Training is key to maintaining DOD’s
security mandate as well. “Operational security isn’t a technical
problem, it’s a people problem,” Holt told an audience at the FOSE
conference.
A clear doctrine for sharing within the network
is also necessary to foster necessary collaboration. “We aren’t trained
to collaborate. Since kindergarten it’s been, ‘Do you own work.’
While
the idea of working together is integral in social media, it can be a
hard sell in the confines of DOD culture. “Sometimes the Public Affairs
Office may say, ‘This is just more work for us.’ But the chief information officer says, ‘This is our policy and this is how we’re
doing it.’ We have to come to grips with this new way of [moving]
information,” Holt said.
Posted on Mar 23, 2010 at 6:37 AM0 comments