Presidential board asks for feedback on cybersecurity
The President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board is soliciting advice from the public on how national cybersecurity can be improved.
The board, which is headed by Dick Clarke, the president's special adviser on cyberspace security, was created in October by an executive order entitled "Critical Infrastructure Protection in the Information Age." One of the board's primary functions is to draft a national strategy to protect cyber space. It has put together a 53-question survey that offers a preview of what the national strategy will look like.
The questions focus on all sectors of society in an effort to determine how deeply cybersecurity is integrated into the everyday operations of businesses, private citizens and governments.
The questionnaire shows that the board is looking at the cybersecurity concerns of home users, small businesses, large corporate enterprises, federal agencies and international governments. The board is also investigating how to enhance the security of the nation's transportation, communications, finance, power and water systems.
The questions include:
- What steps should be taken to impress upon home and small business computer users the depth of their cybersecurity responsibilities? Furthermore, should Internet service providers provide more cybersecurity options to their customers?
- What is the most effective way to institutionalize cybersecurity within corporations and various government bodies?
- What cybersecurity events--such as hacks and viral infections--should be reported? To whom should they be reported?
- Is the federal government sufficiently funded for computer security. Should cybersecurity be funded similarly to the federal Year 2000 remediation effort?
- How can critical systems that are connected to the Internet be protected?
The questionnaire is posted on the System Administration, Networking and Security Institute Web site. SANS, a technology research and education group based in Bethesda, Md., will collect the answers for the board. Responses to the questionnaire are due by April 20, 2002.
Those who want to help create this national stragegy must submit their responses in a proscribed format. Guidelines on how to submit responses are online here.