Congressional panel issues information security report

Congress' Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday issued a compilation of essays titled "Security in the Information Age" heavily focusing on cyber security and critical infrastructure protection.

"We must be better aware of our vulnerabilities and develop viable strategies to detect, deter, and counter both physical and cyber-based threats to our people and infrastructures," said Chairman James Saxon, R-N.J.

Saxon said the reports grew out of the interest that committee member Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah--who selected the contributors--had shown in the subject.

"In bringing us an exciting new era of technology, the information age has also given us a new set of security challenges," Bennett said. "The primary message of today's report is that we must think differently about national security in the new networked world."

Contributors to the report include Undersecretary of State Kenneth Juster, Microsoft security chief Scott Charney and John Tritak, director of the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office.