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Importance of Firewalls, Must Read In This Era
Thursday, August 01, 2002
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Cooperation stymies cyber crime
Government, private businesses join fight to boost network security
By CHRIS JONES
GAMING WIRE
The increased threat of cyber terrorism is sparking cooperation among business and government leaders seeking to maintain the integrity of the world's electronic infrastructure, experts said Wednesday.
About 1,500 top computer security professionals are in Las Vegas to attend this year's Black Hat Briefings, a network security convention that concludes today at Caesars Palace.
Following last year's terrorist attacks, industry sources said the technology community must improve its internal communications to root out potential hackers who could attack computer networks, databases or other critical elements of the modern economy.
Fred Rica, a partner in charge of threat evaluation assessment for PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the government has worked for years to encourage businesses to share information about cyber attacks. Despite those efforts, he said many business leaders initially resisted sharing intelligence for fear that information would hurt their companies' reputation.
Since Sept. 11, however, Rica said he's seen a new sense of cooperation between American business leaders as well as the federal government.
"The threat vector increased significantly and now companies are taking the idea of cyber terrorism more seriously," Rica said. "Today they look at (cyber terrorist attacks) as almost a certainty and have begun to offer more input as a precaution, sort of like how neighbors share information in a Neighborhood Watch program to prevent burglaries to their homes."
Mark Eckenwiler, senior counsel in charge of computer crime and intellectual property for the U.S. Department of Justice, also said Wednesday many businesses remain sensitive to releasing information about cyber attacks against their systems. Still, he said it's important to keep communication lines open to successfully counter future attacks.
"There will always be some hesitation on the part of a (cyber crime) victim to report an incident because they're afraid of publicity and maybe losing business to a rival who has not reported that they've been hacked," Eckenwiler said. "We're trying to tell people that the problem is often bigger than just one incident.
"(Fighting cyber crime) is very much a two-way street. It's not as though law enforcement knows all and is going to come in and solve all the problems. We have to work in partnership with industry because these are our mutual problems."
Richard George, technical director for the National Security Agency's evaluations group, also encouraged additional cooperation.
"(Security) is too big a problem to handle separately," George said.
George said when he started working for the NSA in 1970, the government was one of the few organizations that needed to secure its electronic information on a large scale. Today, he said such practices are both common and vital to the global economy.
"The network world is different today," George said. "Information assurance is something we all have to worry about."
Since hackers have grown in skill and determination, George also said businesses must implement multiple safeguards to protect their data and communication structures.
"Using only a simple firewall is like putting on nothing but some shoes, pants and a T-shirt and saying you've layered your clothes to go out in cold weather," George said. "That's just not enough to protect their information."
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Cooperation stymies cyber crime
Government, private businesses join fight to boost network security
By CHRIS JONES
GAMING WIRE
The increased threat of cyber terrorism is sparking cooperation among business and government leaders seeking to maintain the integrity of the world's electronic infrastructure, experts said Wednesday.
About 1,500 top computer security professionals are in Las Vegas to attend this year's Black Hat Briefings, a network security convention that concludes today at Caesars Palace.
Following last year's terrorist attacks, industry sources said the technology community must improve its internal communications to root out potential hackers who could attack computer networks, databases or other critical elements of the modern economy.
Fred Rica, a partner in charge of threat evaluation assessment for PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the government has worked for years to encourage businesses to share information about cyber attacks. Despite those efforts, he said many business leaders initially resisted sharing intelligence for fear that information would hurt their companies' reputation.
Since Sept. 11, however, Rica said he's seen a new sense of cooperation between American business leaders as well as the federal government.
"The threat vector increased significantly and now companies are taking the idea of cyber terrorism more seriously," Rica said. "Today they look at (cyber terrorist attacks) as almost a certainty and have begun to offer more input as a precaution, sort of like how neighbors share information in a Neighborhood Watch program to prevent burglaries to their homes."
Mark Eckenwiler, senior counsel in charge of computer crime and intellectual property for the U.S. Department of Justice, also said Wednesday many businesses remain sensitive to releasing information about cyber attacks against their systems. Still, he said it's important to keep communication lines open to successfully counter future attacks.
"There will always be some hesitation on the part of a (cyber crime) victim to report an incident because they're afraid of publicity and maybe losing business to a rival who has not reported that they've been hacked," Eckenwiler said. "We're trying to tell people that the problem is often bigger than just one incident.
"(Fighting cyber crime) is very much a two-way street. It's not as though law enforcement knows all and is going to come in and solve all the problems. We have to work in partnership with industry because these are our mutual problems."
Richard George, technical director for the National Security Agency's evaluations group, also encouraged additional cooperation.
"(Security) is too big a problem to handle separately," George said.
George said when he started working for the NSA in 1970, the government was one of the few organizations that needed to secure its electronic information on a large scale. Today, he said such practices are both common and vital to the global economy.
"The network world is different today," George said. "Information assurance is something we all have to worry about."
Since hackers have grown in skill and determination, George also said businesses must implement multiple safeguards to protect their data and communication structures.
"Using only a simple firewall is like putting on nothing but some shoes, pants and a T-shirt and saying you've layered your clothes to go out in cold weather," George said. "That's just not enough to protect their information."