United States President Barack Obama made a bold statement on cyber awareness with his recent announcement to appoint a Cyber Coordinator. This so-called Cyber Czar, will be the lead person to deal with America’s information and communications networks. The President, noting that cyber security was a “matter of public safety,” went on to outline the key areas of responsibility for this new appointment.

“Cyberspace is real…and so are the risks that come with it,” stated the President. He went on to reveal that during the run up to the election, hackers managed to penetrate computer campaign systems, gaining access to emails, campaign files, policy position papers and travel plans. The President assured his audience that the fundraising website was at no time compromised and that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Secret Service and private security consultants restored the security of the system.

At a recent news conference, Director of National Security, Lt. General Keith Alexander, outlined the scale of the network security problem the U.S. faces: 210 billion emails transmitted daily, 4,000 active terrorist websites, 32,000 suspected cyber attacks and more than 100 foreign intelligence organizations trying to break into U.S. systems every day.

In the President’s remarks he talked about the $132 billion in retail sales in 2008, and cyber criminals stealing intellectual property from businesses to the tune of $1 trillion in the last year alone. He spoke of the importance of America’s technological advantages; key to how the country operates now and in the future.  He related economic competitiveness to the management of cyberspace, and spoke of the reliance of people all across America to ensure that the cyber network can be relied on to provide the next payroll, the next trade and the next delivery.  To that end he called for investment in cutting-edge research and development to improve the U.S. information infrastructure, and further indicated a need to launch a national campaign to create cyber security awareness and digital literacy in both boardrooms and classrooms, a program to help foster a 21st century digital workforce.

The President stated that he remains committed to keeping the Internet an “open and free” network, preserving personal privacy and civil liberties.  Yet at the same time the President laid out his five part security strategy that includes:

1.    Appointment of a Cyber Czar to work closely in formulating strategies with Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer and Vivek Kundra, Chief Information Officer for the administration.

2.    Launch of a national campaign to promote cyber security awareness in businesses and schools across the country.

3.    Co-ordination with state and local government and the private sector to ensure a unified response to future incidents.

4.    Public/private collaboration on finding technology solutions to ensure security and promote prosperity.

5.    Further investments in leading-edge R&D to encourage innovation and new discoveries.

In closing, President Obama reminded his audience that the U.S. invented the internet and launched the information revolution that transformed the latter part of the 20th century and that it was time “to lead once more in the 21st.”

Source: Obama Puts Cyber Security Front And Center As An Economic, Public Safety, And National Security Concern

Date of original release: May 29, 2009

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