[ISN] Former NSC Official Criticizes Cyber Security Policies

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/09/21/former-nsc-official-criticizes-cyber-security-policies/

By Siobhan Gorman
Washington Wire
The Wall Street Journal 
September 21, 2010

The Obama administration's cyber security policies came under fire today 
from unexpected quarters -- former National Security Council official 
Richard Clarke, who advised the administration’s transition team.

"The Obama administration so far has failed to do the necessary with 
regard to cyberwar," said Clarke, who now heads a security consulting 
firm, Good Harbor Consulting, and recently co-authored a book on cyber 
security. In a speech in Washington to the Cyber Conflict Studies 
Association, he acknowledged several times that he was critiquing his 
friends.

The Obama administration was quick to fire back. "The Obama 
administration is very focused on this," said one administration 
official. "The president has designated [cyber security] as a strategic 
national asset."

The administration hasn't articulated a strategy to tackle computer 
network security in the U.S. The Pentagon has hinted that such a 
strategy exists but hasn't described it publicly, Clarke said. He said 
the Pentagon is working to extend its cyber protection efforts to the 
private sector because the Department of Homeland Security isn't 
providing that security.

Among other failings, Clarke said the Homeland Security's cyber security 
programs are underfunded and the department has "done nothing" about 
cyber threats to critical infrastructure such as the electric grid, 
which is increasingly dependent on the Internet to stay up and running.

[...]


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