“Our cyber-defenses are woefully lacking,” says former DNI Mike McConnell

Mike McConnell, former DNI and currently heading the cyber effort at Booz Allen, is intimately acquainted with the current level of US cyber defenses. Over the weekend, McConnell wrote an article published in The Washington Post which discussed how the US could go about winning the cyber war that many experts believe we…

NIST Issues Second Draft of Smart-Grid Cybersecurity Plan

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued its second draft of its strategy, Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy and Requirements, for public review.

The implementation of smart-grid technology opens up a variety of new vulnerabilities with the power grid. Foreign nations and terrorists would be capable of using cyberspace to take down the power grid throughout…

Dennis Blair: Critical Infrastructure is Severely Threatened

Yesterday, in testimony on the Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, DNI Dennis Blair discussed the issue of threats from cyberspace in the beginning of his testimony.

Blair said neither the public or private sector can protect U.S. critical infrastructure alone.

“I am here today to stress that, acting independently, neither the…

Competing Proposals for Cyber Coordinator

Last Friday, Sen. Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, outlined the key principles he hopes to include in legislation put forward with Susan Collins on cybersecurity, including a Senate-confirmed cyber coordinator positioned in the White House.

On Monday, Senator Susan Collins spoke before the Homeland Security Policy Institute at GWU and outlined her view that the cyber coordinator position should be…

10 Cybersecurity Game Changers to Watch in 2010

The field of cybersecurity is becoming increasingly relevant to discussions on national security.

President Barack Obama placed cybersecurity in the forefront of his national…

DNI Blair’s Take on Cyber Issues

DNI Dennis Blair recently spoke at the Commonwealth Club in California on cybersecurity issues and their central role to national security planning.

According to govinfosecurity.com, Blair highlighted the roles of various intelligence organizations, including DHS and NSA, in the effort to better secure cyberspace.

During his speech, Blair pointed that ensuring privacy and civil liberties for private citizens is central to the cybersecurity effort, according to the transcripts available

DNI Places Cybersecurity as Top Mission Objective

In the 2009 National Intelligence Strategy, Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence, placed enhancing cybersecurity as one of the six top objectives for the Intelligence Community. NIS highlights the importance of increasing cooperation and coordination between intelligence organizations, the private sector, and academia.

The nation’s cyber infrastructure “is neither secure nor resilient,” according to the NIS, which highlighted the integral role the Intelligence Community should play in securing…