Howard Schmidt Discusses Cybersecurity at RSA Conference
Howard Schmidt
This week, San Francisco is playing host to the RSA Conference, which has seen a gathering from some of the top IT security professionals in the world. Howard Schmidt, currently serving as the White House Cybersecurity Coordinator, was a featured speaker at the event.
Today, Schmidt announced the declassification of a portion of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). During his keynote address, Schmidt discussed the need for partnerships and transparency. As such, he said he was pleased to announce the availability of the CNCI on the White House website.
On a posting on the White House website, Schmidt wrote “Transparency is particularly vital in areas, such as the CNCI, where there have been legitimate questions about sensitive topics like the role of the intelligence community in cybersecurity. Transparency provides the American people with the ability to partner with government and participate meaningfully in the discussion about how we can use the extraordinary resources and expertise of the intelligence community with proper oversight for the protection of privacy and civil liberties.”
“In order to be successful against today’s cybersecurity threats, we must continue to seek out innovative new partnerships—not only within government, but also among industry, government, and the American public,” he wrote.
During his keynote address, Schmidt also discussed the governments role in cybersecurity. “The government is not going to secure the private sector. We are making sure our partners have more security as part of what we’re doing,” he said.
Schmidt called for a change in how the problem is approached by the US.
“We can’t continue to go on the way we’ve been going and expect things to be different. We have to engage our partners, and engage with their private sectors as well,” Schmidt said.
The declassified portions of the CNCI can be accessed here
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