Hathaway Offers Peek At Cyber Study
Melissa Hathaway, a top adviser to Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, offered what she called a "movie trailer" of the recommendations she made in a report to President Obama after finishing a 60-day federal cybersecurity review. Details of the examination and her findings, which were delivered to Obama and key White House officials late last week, will be made public once the president and the administration have had a chance to review the material. Nevertheless, Hathaway told the RSA security summit Wednesday that it is "the fundamental responsibility of our government to address strategic vulnerabilities in cyberspace and to ensure that the United States and the world can realize the full potential of the information technology revolution."
That responsibility transcends the jurisdictional purview of individual departments and agencies because no single agency has a broad enough perspective to match the sweep of the challenges, she said at the San Francisco gathering of high-tech and security experts. Hathaway also said dealing with tech threats requires "leading from the top" -- from the White House, to departments and agencies, state, local, tribal governments, the "C-suite," and to the local classroom and library. "The White House must lead the way forward with leadership that draws upon the strength, advice and ideas of the entire nation," she said in prepared remarks provided to the press.
The federal government cannot entirely delegate or abrogate its role in securing the nation from a cyber incident or accident, Hathaway said, emphasizing the importance of private sector support. "The public and private sector's interests are intertwined with a shared responsibility for ensuring a secure, reliable infrastructure upon which businesses and government services depend," she said. Hathaway closed with a bit of humor: "I almost forgot, this speech will now self-destruct, but don't worry... this is the Internet-age, there are already hundreds of copies which you can download online."
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