Re: DHS cyber division taking shape, despite concerns about waning influence

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

Forwarded from: Mark Bernard <mbernard () nbnet nb ca>
Cc: HTCIA <htcia () htcia talklist com>, InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>

Dear Associates,

There is no need to go out and reinvent the wheel here. We already
have an international association that brings public, private
businesses together with law enforcement. It currently has 48
chapters, three here in Canada, a few in Europe, South America and the
Pacific Rim oh yes and the US of course. http://www.htcia.org My local
chapter; http://www.nb-htcia.org

Michigan, Ontario and New Brunswick are currently setting up the first
even cross border conference titled "The Great Lakes Electronic Crime
& Security Summit" targeted for next June.  There are also annual
conferences, this year its in Lake Tahoe.

If you know someone at the DHS you may want to mention this to them
and save some tax payers dollars.


Best regards,
Mark.

Mark E. S. Bernard, CISM,
Apollo Computer Consultants Inc.

email: Mark.Bernard.CISM () apollo-cc com
Web site: www.apollo-cc.com

Phone: (506) 375-6368

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "InfoSec News" <isn () c4i org>
To: <isn () attrition org>
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2003 6:45 AM
Subject: [ISN] DHS cyber division taking shape, despite concerns about
waning influence


>
http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,85589,00.html
> Story by Dan Verton
> OCTOBER 01, 2003
> COMPUTERWORLD
>
> ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A principal adviser to the new head of the
> Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division
> (NCSD) has reiterated that the division and its industry outreach
> program remain key players at the DHS and that it has a direct line to
> senior officials, including Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge
> and President Bush.
>
> Speaking here at the Digital Security Conference, Sallie McDonald, the
> DHS's senior executive responsible for outreach and awareness efforts,
> said yesterday that the NCSD "is properly placed within the
> department" and has been described by Ridge as part of the "heartbeat
> of the agency."
>
> The conference was sponsored by Washtenaw Community College and the
> Walsh College Information Assurance Center.
>
> McDonald's comments follow recurring criticism from experts and former
> administration officials who fear that the current cybersecurity
> leadership has been buried too deep within the DHS bureacracy to be
> effective. Critics fear that the agency may have lost some of its
> influence with the departure this year of Richard Clarke, the former
> chairman of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board
> and the nation's first de facto cybersecurity czar.
>
> Those critics, including Clarke, have said repeatedly that not having
> the ear of the president or Ridge could spell the loss of momentum on
> the public/private cybersecurity partnership agenda.
>
> A spokesman for the DHS said Amit Yoran, whose last day of official
> employment at Symantec Corp. was yesterday, will take the helm at the
> NCSD during the last week of this month. McDonald praised Yoran,
> calling him the right person for the right job at the right time.
>
> McDonald said the NCSD is now focused on reducing vulnerabilities
> throughout the nation's critical infrastructures, establishing a
> national response center at the newly formed US-CERT at Carnegie
> Mellon University (see story), and developing a cybersecurity outreach
> program targeted at small businesses and home users as well as large
> companies.

[...]



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