Cybersecurity czar meets with tech execs

Richard Clarke, the nation's top cybersecurity adviser, met with about a dozen members of the lobbying group TechNet on Wednesday to ask for their help in making U.S. networks more secure.

During the discussion with officials from 3Com, Akamai, Cylix, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Morgan Stanley, Securify and Tumbleweed Communications, Clarke emphasized that the government does not intend to instruct the private sector. Rather, he said he is soliciting help and opening a dialogue with the high-tech community and other sectors of the economy.

"Clarke really wanted to hear our ideas on how to address cybersecurity ... and he made it very clear that this isn't about the government telling us what to do," said Connie Correll, vice president of TechNet, which has its headquarters in Silicon Valley. "He said, 'We want you to tell us what to do.' "

Clarke has been meeting with company executives in Silicon Valley during the last two weeks. He said in a speech Wednesday evening that there is little support within the Bush administration for a national identification-card system, as has been proposed by several Silicon Valley executives from Oracle and Sun Microsystems.

The government has had difficulty convincing private-sector companies to share computer-security information with the government. The government also has had problems getting agencies to communicate with each other about computer security.

To foster greater cooperation, the Bush administration named Clarke as head of the newly created Critical Infrastructure Board, under which various agency heads or their designees report to him and are held accountable for cyber security in their agencies. The White House also plans to create a National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which would include CEOs, academics, and non-government and government officials to coordinate cyber-security policy.

Clarke asked TechNet members to offer names of individuals who should be members of the council, Correll said. He also said the government is considering creating and disseminating a computer-security guide that would include best practices, standards and tools designed to help companies protect themselves.

Clarke also described some of the government's cyber-security efforts, such as the cyber-corps program, which provides funding to eight colleges to train experts.

Correll said the high-tech officials suggested that they could create a database listing cyber-security experts and that they support an administration-created CEO advisory panel. 3Com Chairman Eric Benahmou and former Netscape Communications CEO Jim Barksdale lead a TechNet task force on cybersecurity policy.

Last month, former Defense Secretary William Perry, who is now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute, met with TechNet members to discuss cybersecurity, Correll said.