The U.S. White House makes cybersecurity a top priority.
On 29-May-09 President Barack Obama said
The nation’s computer network infrastructure will be defended as a national strategic asset.
You can view the white house 60-day review of the U.S. cybersecurity status which includes short-term and long-term action plans for improving the security of the cyber world.
Among the short-term goals for the U.S. government announced by President Barack Obama:
- Appoint a White House cybersecurity coordinator.
- Develop metrics for measuring improvements in cybersecurity.
- Create a public education campaign
- Develop a cyberincident response plan.
You can see this blog post from the whitehouse.gov website where the cybersecurity chief of the National Security Council and other public and private sector experts talking about securing the cyber world.
The 60-day review and president Obama announcement was followed by the order of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates, to create a unified command to act as the nation’s central hub for cyber capabilities.
Our increasing dependency on cyberspace, alongside a growing array of cyber threats and vulnerabilities, adds a new element of risk to our national security,
Gates wrote in the memo.
To address this risk effectively and to secure freedom of action in cyberspace, the Department of Defense requires a command that possesses the required technical capability and remains focused on the integration of cyberspace operations.
The U.S. Cyber Command will be established by this October and be fully operational by October 2010.
Hopefully, it will help to effectively fight cyber crime.
