Followers of the cyber initiative and its related work have been strongly encouraged by the kickoff of a 60 day study tasked by the White House and led by Melissa Hathaway. Melissa was named by President Obama to conduct this review. As has been reported here in previous posts Melissa is one of the most effective, efficient senior executives in public service, and I have no doubt she will execute this task in a way that benefits the nation.
As an update, the White House blog posted an entry on this study today. It reads as follows:
White House Blog
Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 am
Cyber review underway
John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, passed along this update about the ongoing review of our nation’s communications and information infrastructure.
In response to President Obama’s direction, the National Security Council and Homeland Security Council are presently conducting a 60-day review of the plans, programs, and activities underway throughout the government that address our communications and information infrastructure (i.e., cyberspace). The purpose of the review is to develop a strategic framework to ensure that our initiatives in this area are appropriately integrated, resourced and coordinated both within the Executive Branch and with Congress and the private sector.
Our nation’s security and economic prosperity depend on the security, stability, and integrity of communications and information infrastructure that are largely privately-owned and globally-operated. Safeguarding these important interests will require balanced decision making that integrates and harmonizes our national and economic security objectives with enduring respect for the rule of law. Guided by this principle, the review will build upon existing policies and structures to formulate a new vision for a national public-private partnership and an action plan to:
enhance economic prosperity and facilitate market leadership for the U.S. information and communications industry; deter, prevent, detect, defend against, respond to, and remediate disruptions and damage to U.S. communications and information infrastructure; ensure U.S. capabilities to operate in cyberspace in support of national goals; and safeguard the privacy rights and civil liberties of our citizens.
The review will be completed by the end of April 2009. At that time, the review team will present its recommendations to the President regarding an optimal White House organizational construct to address issues related to U.S. and global information and communications infrastructure and capabilities. The recommendations also will include an action plan on identifying and prioritizing further work in this area.
Learn more about the administration’s Homeland Security priorities.
UNQUOTE
The fact of this White House blog entry is a huge signal that something has changed. Openness on this topic was unthinkable just months ago. We have also seen more direct work with industry groups on cyber, another positive step.
There is a great deal of work to be done in a very short amount of time. What ever the result of this review is I’m sure it will be first rate and I’m ready to support it fully. It is not often that I endorse something before it is done, but in this case I think it is the right thing to do. There are too many bad things happening because of poor security, and too much of the economy is hurting because of it.
