Critical Infrastructure Protection Month
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POSTED BY Jody Ma Kissling on 12.06.2011 0 comments |
Deeming December "Critical Infrastructure Protection Month", President Obama has called on the feds to "reflect on" their responsibility to keep U.S. electricity, financial networks, and other critical control facilities safe from cyber threats.
Here is a brief quote from Obama's proclamation:
“As we navigate new and uncertain challenges in the digital age, we must also address the growing threat cyber attacks present to our transportation networks, electricity grid, financial systems, and other assets and infrastructure. Cybersecurity remains a priority for my Administration, and we are committed to protecting our critical infrastructure by taking decisive action against cyber threats. To ensure the safety of our most vital operations, we are working to give public and private organizations the ability to obtain cybersecurity assistance quickly and effectively. These efforts will bolster our ability to withstand any attack, whether virtual or physical.”
In combination with this new proclamation the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence approved a bill to facilitate sharing and pooling of “cyber threat information” between private companies and government intelligence agencies. This bill is seen as controversial from different groups as it potentially punches an enormous hole in the wiretapping laws that have, for decades, been a primary guarantor of our electronic privacy. It is beyond the scope of this blog to address this issue, however the most fascinating part of this bill is the definition of what constitutes a cyber threat:
Information directly pertaining to a vulnerability of, or threat to a system or network of a government or private entity, including information pertaining to the protection of a system or network from—
(A) efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy such system or network; or
(B) theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information.
To understand more about today's prominent cyber attacks we recommend you attend Lancope's complimentary webinar “Leveraging Netflow to Combat Today's Most Prominent Cyber Attacks.” Participants will learn about the types of cyber attacks they need to be prepared to address in 2012, and how NetFlow can help improve their security strategy for the new year and beyond.
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