Cyber Security Spending - Protecting Systems Or A lot of Spying?

Coverage of presidency cyber security initiatives may be a bit disconcerting as a result of there isn't a lot of information available. The massive budget numbers within the news and federal press releases mean very little without knowing precisely what the money is being spend on.

Thus, it is necessary to read between the lines of this Washington Post story. The most important request for funds in the 2009 intelligence budget is for the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). The administration calls CNCI its "most significant initiative," but details remain sketchy. Comments from the administration are general, and target the concept that cyber security must switch from finding intrusions quickly to proactively preventing them. The Post says a House intelligence committee report approved 90 percent of the request.

A recent Wired story on a report by the Senate Armed Services Committee raises several of these issues. The story quotes from a New Yorker piece from January, in that the United States Director of National Intelligence laid out a number of goals of the project - examining e-mails, file transfers and Google searches - that are at best tangentially related to improving cyber security.

In fact, this is often an election year, and therefore the aggressiveness with that cyber security initiatives are dispensed will be the responsibility of an Obama or McCain administration. A recent Network World post suggests a subtler approach. The author says massive expenditures are not necessary to enhance security and advises the subsequent president to avoid making huge spending programs or passing a bunch of redundant laws mandating security. The reality is much simpler: If the government follows easy security apply, things can improve.

Government cyber security may be a advanced arena. This administration is alleged by several to solely have gotten faith about the topic recently. Currently, but, several agencies are in the mix. The problem is that the administration is operating with a Congress held by the opposition party which it's getting into its final months, hardly the time for bold initiatives. The general public image is any clouded by the fact that abundant of the most meaningful coming up with should be drained secret. This all is a bit disturbing, especially if it is assumed that cyber terrorists are good and able to require advantage of such confusion.

It appears that several of the foremost contentious social and political problems of the past number of years are reflected in the government's largely secret cyber security initiative. Additionally to the questionable strategy of throwing cash at a downside, several suspect that the extent of secrecy surrounding CNCI is unduly high which much of the program is aimed toward spying versus protecting system.

At the top of the day, however, the precise direction of the program will not be determined by the present administration. The nice news is that each John McCain and Barack Obama have spoken concerning the need for improved cyber security. The key will be if the candidate who finally ends up in the Oval Office truly delivers on his rhetoric.

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