[ISN] Clarke Takes Gov't to Task Over Security

From: InfoSec News (isnat_private)
Date: Wed Jul 16 2003 - 00:45:36 PDT

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    Forwarded from: William Knowles <wkat_private>
    
    http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1192919,00.asp
    
    By Dennis Fisher
    July 15, 2003 
    
    Former White House cyber-security czar Richard Clarke ripped his 
    former employer Tuesday, saying that the government is doing an 
    unacceptable job of helping the private sector lock down the nation's 
    critical infrastructure. 
    
    Speaking at a press conference called to announce a new private 
    alliance of technology companies concerned with security, Clarke took 
    the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies to 
    task for failing to act quickly on the National Strategy to Secure 
    Cyberspace. 
    
    "The reorganization of security into DHS has, at least in the short 
    term, made things worse," said Clarke, who is now chairman of Good 
    Harbor Consulting LLC, a firm based in Arlington, Va., that counsels 
    companies on security and other issues. "The government is less 
    capable now of securing its network than it was a year ago. This 
    doesn't have to go on." 
    
    Until March, Clarke was the chairman of the President's Critical 
    Infrastructure Protection Board, which was dissolved when DHS became 
    operational. Since his departure from Washington, he often has been 
    sharply critical of the government's foot-dragging in regard to 
    cyber-security. 
    
    Clarke added that part of the problem is that many people who were 
    supposed to join DHS from other government agencies opted to stay 
    where they were, severely damaging the department's efforts to get up 
    and running. 
    
    "All of the National Infrastructure Protection Center was supposed to 
    move," he said. "Instead, a lot of people decided to stay at the FBI. 
    Most of what was moved were empty jobs." 
    
    Clarke's sentiments were echoed by others at the event, including Ronn 
    Bailey, CEO of Vanguard Integrity Professionals, a security software 
    company based in Las Vegas, which is sponsoring the new alliance. The 
    new coalition, known as the Vanguard Technology Alliance, is meant to 
    help its members share ideas and technology to create new security 
    solutions. 
    
    "The government effort has lost momentum. I personally believe we're 
    vulnerable to a cyber-attack of 9/11 magnitude or greater," Bailey 
    said. "We are going to address this situation, and we are going to do 
    it now." 
    
    Clarke also took on the subject of cyber-terrorism and whether 
    terrorist organizations are really capable of successfully attacking 
    America's vital networks. 
    
    "IT has always been a major interest of al-Qaeda. We know that from 
    the laptops we have that we've recovered that have hacking tools on 
    them," said Clarke, who also once served as the nation's top 
    counter-terrorism official. "It is a huge mistake to think that 
    al-Qaeda isn't technologically sophisticated, a fatal one. They are 
    well-trained, they are smart. They proved it on 9/11 with one style of 
    attack, and they can prove it again." 
    
    
     
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