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House Passes Cyber R&D Bill Associated Press 11:50 a.m. Feb. 7, 2002 PST WASHINGTON -- The House voted Thursday to provide colleges and research groups with $800 million over the next five years to figure out new ways to protect computers against hackers. The bill, fueled in part by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a new focus on weaknesses in business and government computer security, passed 400-12. "...All the tools of our daily lives are connected to and reliant upon computer networks," said House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-New York). "A cyber attack could knock out electricity, drinking water and sewage systems, financial institutions, assembly lines and communications." The bill would create new research and education grants at the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It was endorsed by several technology trade groups and universities that have lamented the lack of college courses in computer security. Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, said the bill is critical to building a larger base of information security professionals and improving information sharing. It now moves to the Senate, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is considering whether to sponsor the measure there, said spokesmen for Wyden and Boehlert. Almost every federal agency has been criticized by government investigators for lax computer security. Securing the nation's infrastructure, from the national power grid to individual computers, became more of a Bush administration priority after Sept. 11. Recently, Microsoft's top security guru, Howard Schmidt, joined White House technology adviser Richard Clarke's staff. While current cyber attacks are usually confined to harassments and website graffiti, security experts predict the assaults will be more dangerous in the future. Last year, the CIA said it knew of three countries -- the United States, China and Russia -- that are training soldiers to attack and defend targets through the Internet. "In this new age, we must have training both for a new generation of cyber warriors whose most important weapon is not a gun, but a laptop," said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas). ============================================================ YOU SPEND TOO MUCH ON MONITORS MonitorsDirect saves I.T. managers money by skipping two middlemen. >>> Click here to learn more, and get the free Monitor Field Guide. http://click.topica.com/caaafJvb1dhr0b2EDp2f/MonitorsDirect ============================================================ --via http://techPolice.com archive: http://theMezz.com/cybercrime/archive subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --via http://theMezz.com ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1dhr0.b2EDp2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
