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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FaultLine who wrote (3757)	10/9/2001 12:10:00 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 281500

Cyber Security Key to New U.S Initiative Monday October 08 06:25 PM EDT By Jay Lyman, www.NewsFactor.com Federal and other officials say that cyber security will be a key component of the new Office of Homeland Security -- but some computer security experts worry that more bureaucracy will bog down protection. While the man named to head the new office, former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, has a history of tapping technology for public policy issues, there is concern over his ability to coordinate some 40 agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI (news - web sites)) and the Central Intelligence Agency (news - web sites) (CIA (news - web sites)). And although officials as high as the President of the United States stress the value of secure information in the war on terrorism, industry experts doubt that government can cut through the red tape to protect the Internet. "I think there's a big need [for cyber security], but I'm not sure the way the government is going about it will really have much effect," SecurityFocus incident analyst Ryan Russell told NewsFactor Network. "I think we're a long way off from being secure. The best we can do is act responsively, and I don't see that changing for at least the next decade." Information Is Power There has been some skepticism that a new Office of Homeland Security is the best way to address the kinds of security gaps that allowed September's hijackers to slip through the system, and to prevent future attacks, including on the Web. But at Ridge's swearing in on Monday, President George W. Bush (news - web sites) said the new office has his weight behind it. "The Homeland Security Office has a series of specific goals, and will have my authority to meet them," the President said. "One, take the strongest possible precautions against terrorism by bringing together the best information and intelligence. In the war on terror, knowledge is power." While it is still taking shape, the "homeland defense" initiative also includes a new deputy national security adviser who will coordinate anti-terrorism efforts of the National Security Council, which now includes an Office of Cyber Security. Tech Admins Only Still, security experts like Russell say that cyber security problems center on the need for system administrators, not federal administrators. "It looks like most of the problems out there have to do with bodies to do the work," he told NewsFactor. Russell, who recalled a two-day authority delay when he was asked to look at a government agency server, said officials typically focus too much on "penetration testing" to find out whether systems are vulnerable, leaving the same security holes year after year. "They're finding gaping, massive holes and keep coming back and finding the same problems over and over again," he said. "You never can tell what's going to result, but I'm skeptical based on the past." A New World Russell did say that the terrorist attacks may have changed the mindsets of government officials and large software makers like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news), putting a new priority on security. "They seem to be acknowledging there is a systemic problem," Russell said, adding that government is a large user of Microsoft products and has the same security problems as other users of the popular software. Speaking at the White House on Monday, Ridge -- who has made deals with Microsoft, Unisys and other technology companies while governor of Pennsylvania -- indicated a need to bring together the various federal, state and local agencies involved in securing everything from local highways to the information superhighway. He added that candor and cooperation would be the driving principle for the new office. "The President's executive order states that we must detect, prepare for, prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks -- an extraordinary mission," Ridge said. "But we will carry it out."

To: FaultLine who wrote (3757)	10/9/2001 12:11:50 PM
From: Scoobah	Respond to of 281500

In order there might be a Bin-Laden Arabia, Osama needs to rally all of the oppressed Muslim peoples. This has severely upstaged Arafat, and even Saddam for all its gall. 4 US Aircraft Carrier battle groups arent there to pound mountains and create swimming pools for the next generation Afghani. If Egyptian President Hosni Mubharrak is taken out, or Syria's Assad, we could see the beginning of the hordes which in the end would be slaughtered by our weapons. Now we are hearing that the Northern Alliance is not a home grown Afghan resistance but from Central Asia? Foreign Affairs indeed; it is getting hard to keep up!