President orders cyber-security review

Even though the Senate hasn't yet made cyber-security a top priority, having cut research allocations out of the stimulus bill it just passed, President Barack Obama is taking steps to make cyberspace safer on a variety of levels.

The President launched on Monday a 60-day inter-agency review of everything cyber-related throughout the U.S. government. Notably, the initiative is not only geared toward government security, but is intended to take a close look at protecting the private sector as well. "The national security and economic health of the United States depend on the security, stability, and integrity of our nation's cyberspace, both in the public and private sectors," said John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, in a statement.

The White House had already outlined its goals for cybersecurity, including working "with the private sector to establish tough new standards for cyber security and physical resilience."

To head up the review effort, Obama appointed Melissa Hathaway, who worked on cyber-security for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Hathaway, who will serve as Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace for the National Security and Homeland Security Councils during the review period, is considered by many to be a candidate for a new administrative position called Assistant to the President for Cyberspace.

Hathaway has connected the ID theft of private individuals and foreign spying activities that have threatened the government infrastructure, stating in a McClatchy-Tribune editorial that "When it comes to cyber security, government and the private sector need to recognize that an individual vulnerability is a common weakness." (If you have Adobe Acrobat, you can download and read Hathaway's complete Oct. 17, 2008 editorial, Safeguarding our cyber boarders, from the online press release section of the ODNI.)

—Donna Tapellini