A key House lawmaker criticized the White House Thursday for not devoting enough money and focus to technology research in combating cyberterrorism.
Rep. Connie Morella R-Md., chair of the House Science Committee technology panel, said she is concerned that the Commerce Department's Technology Administration is not playing a large enough role in efforts to protect government and private computer systems needed to run everything from power plants to defense systems.
"I am growing increasingly concerned that the administration views law enforcement and not technology as the best deterrent to cyber-crime," Morella said during a hearing on the Commerce Department's technology budget request.
The administration has proposed a $1.46 billion initiative to combat cyberterrorism. Of this amount, about $240 million will go toward civilian programs and $1.2 billion for defense, according to a Commerce Department official. The administration, however, has proposed only $3 million in fiscal 2000 for the Technology Administration's role in the initiative. This is in addition to $1.5 million that the agency gets for computer security research, according to Matthew Heyman, a spokesman for the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is part of the Technology Administration and will receive the additional funding.
The proposed funding would be used by NIST for developing needed measurements, test methods and standards to help ensure the reliability, trustworthiness and viability of information technology systems that support the national infrastructure.
Heyman said the $3 million increase is significant given how much money NIST has received in past years for computer security research. "We think its an appropriate amount for us to be spending" on this effort, Heyman said.
NEXT STORY: Bill would let aid recipients hold Census jobs