Cyber sharing with industry improving, DOJ says
The Justice Department is trying to send threat information back to breach victims as an investigation progresses, according to a top cybersecurity official at the agency.
Private-sector executives have sent a clear message to the Justice Department: The cyberthreat information the department shares must improve, said Sean Newell, a deputy chief in the department's National Security Division.
As a result, officials are trying to send threat information to breach victims as an investigation progresses, Newell said Dec. 9 at an Atlantic Council event in Washington.
With regard to U.S. government efforts in general, he said, "I think there's been a lot of information sharing just in the last six months that might not be where people want it to be, but it's definitely a lot better than where it was a year ago."
One of the department's key interfaces with the private sector comes through FBI investigators. An audit published in July by the Justice inspector general found that the threat information the FBI was sharing with the private sector often lacked context or was outdated.
According to the report, companies said sharing information with the FBI was "akin to sending information into a black hole because they often do not know what becomes of it."
Newell, who advises FBI agents on cyber investigations, said, "We are trying to feed that [threat] information back to the victim so it is not a black hole."
Jason Healey, former director of cyber infrastructure protection at the White House, credited the Obama administration with being open with the private sector about the cyber vulnerabilities federal officials discover.
The fact that the administration has set a default policy of letting firms know they've been hacked "is an incredibly powerful...statement of public policy," Healey said at the Atlantic Council event.
But the FBI does not immediately disclose all cyber vulnerabilities known to agents. Amy Hess, executive assistant director of the FBI's Science and Technology Branch, recently told the Washington Post that the bureau takes advantage of zero-day exploits to hack computers and identify suspects. The strategy requires that the FBI not share news of a potentially widespread software vulnerability that could affect businesses and everyday users.