Wednesday, January 7, 2009

DOJ Official: Cyber Defenders Stay Vigilant

Amid a growing sea of phishers, spammers and other Internet-based crooks, the most daunting cyber challenge faced by law enforcement agencies is identifying how best to secure the U.S. national high-tech infrastructure writ large, Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip told the International Conference on Cyber Security this week in New York City, which was organized by the FBI and Fordham University. "We must secure our cyber infrastructure in a manner that addresses threats from foreign armies, adversary intelligence services, criminals, and terrorists. It's hard to exaggerate how important this is or how hard it is to accomplish fully," he said in remarks released Wednesday. "We've made real progress in this area, but we all know there's a lot to do."

Filip outlined some successes like an FBI center in Pennsylvania that brings together private parties and government investigators together to work on cyber breaches and threats, but said that effort and others are in their early stages. The Justice Department and FBI are also ramping up collaborations with other agencies to address cyber espionage and cyber terrorism threats. That work is done at places like the Joint Terrorism Task Forces and the National Counterterrorism Center.

In the coming years, those who safeguard the IT space will encounter the same kinds of spies, criminals, terrorists, and armies -- "but we're now living in a world where technology moves much faster than the government typically moves, and where our adversaries are anxious to exploit every vulnerability that technological change can offer," Filip warned. For that reason, the government's response must be nimble and effective at working with the private sector, he said. He also mentioned President-elect Barack Obama's interest in creating a White House position to coordinate cyber policy across agencies but would not offer an opinion on the wisdom of that model.