NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: GIBBS & BRADNER 10/14/04 Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED],
In this issue: * Net Insider columnist Scott Bradner isn't sure what a good and ��effective U.S. government-led cybersecurity effort would do, but ��the way things are going he doesn't think there's much risk of ��finding out * Links related to Gibbs & Bradner * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Faronics Protect your systems today against unknown threats of tomorrow. FreezeX is a revolutionary method to address blended threats. The only solution to utilize a unique whitelist technology - FreezeX provides proactive protection against spyware, keyloggers, Trojans, viruses, or any other malware. Whether downloaded or introduced via removable media or the network, FreezeX is a powerful, secure, and economical software solution that will prevent unauthorized executables from launching an attack. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84625 _______________________________________________________________ WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DATA CENTER? Sign up for Network World's Data Center Newsletter in which Johna Till Johnson and the team at Nemertes Research will provide an ongoing assessment of current data center business drivers and future trends; concrete advice and guidance for IT executives seeking to consolidate data centers, improve disaster recovery, and deploy virtualization techniques. Click here to subscribe: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84777 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: Insecurity (or is that frustration?) at the top By Scott Bradner A couple of months after getting a bad report card and a few days after one reorganization plan was stripped out of a U.S. House of Representatives security bill, the U.S. cybersecurity chief resigned from his job ( <http://www.nwfusion.com/weblogs/layer8/006411.html> ) with one day's notice. He claimed it was because he had finished his work and hinted that another reason was a desire to spend more time with his family. But the Washington buzz is there is less to the story than that. Anit Yoran was the third U.S. cybersecurity chief to resign in the past two years, starting with Richard Clarke, who was followed in resignation by Howard Schmidt. Both of Yoran's predecessors publicly expressed frustration that cybersecurity was getting far less emphasis in the minds of government officials than they felt it should. Reports that Yoran felt the same way have been circulating around Washington for the past few months. The report of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general (see this column <http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2004/080904bradner.html> ) didn't make Yoran feel all that good. Nor, I expect, did the removal - less than a week before he resigned - of a provision in a House security bill that would have moved the DHS cybersecurity effort to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, where it might have gotten more resources. In what may be a rewriting of history, no one now admits that there was ever such a provision in spite of a number of believable reports at the time. Another effort, to raise the status of the cybersecurity chief within DHS, is still alive but may be dying. The current cybersecurity effort is staffed by 60 people and has an annual budget of $70 million or so, but does not seem to be doing much that anyone can see, as the inspector general's report card pointed out. It's hard for me to understand why so little is being done. Various reports put the annual loss caused by cybersecurity problems in the U.S. at tens of billions of dollars. Even in Washington I would think someone would notice numbers of this size. Note that this is a time of relative cyberpeace. I say cyberpeace because there doesn't seem to be much evidence that we are under a general attack by organized groups. The evidence seems to be that the big problems at this time are the result of cyberpunks trying to outdo each other, or from plain old capitalism where hackers are selling the use of networks of compromised computers to spammers or to people who want to order a denial-of-service attack on someone else. Things could get a lot worse if some anti-U.S. group or government decided to try to trash the U.S. cyberinfrastructure to make a political point. I'm not quite sure what a good and effective U.S. government-led cybersecurity effort would do, but the way things are going there doesn't seem too much of a risk of finding out. Disclaimer: Some of what Harvard does is seen as good, some effective, a little as both and some as none of the above, but this commentary is my own. _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Scott Bradner Bradner is a consultant with Harvard University's University Information Systems. He can be reached at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Veritas Meta Group Whitepaper Database Infrastructure Performance Challenges: Approaches to Better Manage Application Database and Storage Subsystem Performance Corporate relational databases now manage the majority of business-critical data within the enterprise. IT organizations face continuing challenges in managing increasingly complex, data-driven application environments. Read this white paper to discover several factors which will converge to challenge the IT organization's ability to manage its database software infrastructure. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84652 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Gibbs archive: http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/gibbs.html Bradner archive: http://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/bradner.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE CHECK OUT NW FUSION'S WHITE PAPER LIBRARY Visit Today: NW Fusion's White Paper Library with new features and improved capabilities! Sort NW Fusion's library of white papers by Date and Vendor, view white papers by TECHNCIAL CATEGORY, mouse over white paper descriptions and take advantage of our IMPROVED white paper search engine. CLICK HERE: <http://www.nwfusion.com/vendorview/whitepapers.html> _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. Apply today at <http://www.subscribenw.com/nl2> International subscribers click here: <http://nww1.com/go/circ_promo.html> _______________________________________________________________ SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail newsletters, go to: <http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx> To unsubscribe from promotional e-mail go to: <http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Preferences.aspx> To change your e-mail address, go to: <http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ChangeMail.aspx> Subscription questions? Contact Customer Service by replying to this message. This message was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please use this address when modifying your subscription. _______________________________________________________________ Have editorial comments? Write Jeff Caruso, Newsletter Editor, at: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Inquiries to: NL Customer Service, Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 For advertising information, write Kevin Normandeau, V.P. of Online Development, at: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Copyright Network World, Inc., 2004 ------------------------ This message was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
