Heritage Scholar: America Needs Clearer Lines of Authority in Cyber
In a recent piece published on the Heritage Foundation’s website, Paul Rosenzweig, a principal at Red Branch Consulting, PLLC, and a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, writes the United States still needs to better delineate lines of authority in the realm of cybersecurity.
“The Obama administration made a strong start at rationalizing U.S. cybersecurity policies, including an initial 100-day review of existing protocol and the creation of a ‘cyber coordinator’ position,” he writes. “Unfortunately, the momentum with which the administration started seems to have waned.”
While the United States is in a better position than it was previously in, there is still work to be done to ensure better security in cyberspace, according to Rosenzweig.
“Today, as it pertains to cybersecurity, America still needs clearer lines of authority within the federal government and a more coherent structure of public–private interaction to allow for effective action,” he writes. “That structure should provide for greater and more effective control and coordination of the federal effort. Though current cyber coordinator Howard Schmidt has begun well, he should become a cyber leader with more directive authority.”
As the cyber capabilities expand, the United States increasingly needs to stay ahead of the curve in cyber.
“Duplicative effort and the waste it entails are not the only risks posed by uncoordinated federal activity,” Rosenzweig said. “More significantly, the lack of coordination reflects an inability to bridge a cultural gap between the openness of the Silicon Valley and the secrecy of a national security environment.”
Related posts:
