Washington’s Cyber Security landscape has two tribes. One is the Wooly Headed Wonks. This tribe’s members are into policy, law and regulations. The other tribe is the Propeller Headed Geeks. This tribe’s members are scientists, computer engineers and software architects. The growing cyber threat that we all face is such that the two groups MUST learn to cooperate. If they do not, we are in big trouble.
The Supreme Court decision to uphold the right of the members of the Westboro Baptist Church to protest at the funerals of fallen service members reminds us: Even hurtful speech is protected. As a career Army Officer, what these protesters do at ceremonies personally sickens and angers me, but I thank God that I can be counted as a U.S. citizen, and I am glad I was willing to lay down my life so the Westboro Baptist crowd can desecrate the memory of my comrades.
We now have an Iron Triangle of Cybersecurity. At the points are security, privacy and information sharing. Each one is enabled by the other two, and each one is, at the same time, in conflict with the other two. How can we achieve the balance that we so badly need?
Many people see cybersecurity as simply a matter of building a better castle. If we only have higher and thicker walls, and a strong cavalry, we’ll be safe. Yet, the bad guys are always going to get through, and it does not matter much if the cavalry is preemptive or reactive. We still need the sensors and decision-making protocols to get the right action at the right time.
One of the most successful (I did not say perfect) cybersecurity programs in the Federal Government is being run by the Department of State. That is because they have about as close to a continuous monitoring system as possible. They are an example for the rest of the government. How has State done this?
The Cyber Market writ large is well over $15 billion. Despite the seemingly well-informed and well-intentioned efforts of the Obama Administration, the large contracts (or lots of medium sized ones) most of the experts thought would begin to flow in 2010 quite simply did not happen. I expect this to break lose this year.
Looking ahead in cyber, I have written some predictions for the actors, events and threats in 2011. Though we have not yet had a major cyber event in the United States, my gut says it’s coming. Here are five other major events we can expect in the coming year.
The end of the year is approaching, and it is time to look back and see what the major cyber events/issues have been in 2010. I tried to keep it manageable, but it was a busy year. So, here are my nominations for the most significant cyber issues.
I had the privilege of participating on a panel last week at American University. My “ah-ha!” moment was listening to two Baltimore cops who spoke on a panel after me, both of who work in cyber crime and cyber forensics. These guys are heroes. Local law enforcement has a role to play in cybersecurity. As cyber crime grows in magnitude, local cops will become increasingly critical to the fight. The problem is that they are chronically under funded and under manned.
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