The first panel of AFCEA’s Annual Homeland Security Conference had Cyber Security as a subject. That alone says something for the predominance and importance of this issue today. The discussion was a fine starting point for the event. Overall, it was a superb panel that covered a wide swath, and did it well.
E-Verify finds only one out of two illegals – Homeland Security Newswire
The U.S. government’s E-Verify program to detect illegal workers has an “inaccuracy rate” of about 54 percent, outside consultants have determined. An evaluation of E-Verify carried out for DHS by a Maryland firm found the program allows “many unauthorized workers” to obtain employment, the Wall Street Journal’s Louise Radofsky and Miriam Jordan writee that reported Thursday.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee held a long awaited hearing on Cyber Security. Chairman John Rockefeller began with the thought that a major cyber attack could shut down our nation’s most critical infrastructure. He called for legislation to “modernize the relationship between the government and the private sector on cyber security.” A stellar group of witnesses appeared, all who added to the growing discussion on cyber security.
Amidst the news today are reports that DHS employs more contractors than career civil servants. Lawmakers, notably Sen. Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), have described this situation as “unacceptable, untenable and unsustainable.” The other notable word that they have used to describe this situation is “astounding.” This is a situation that has been known about for some time. If we really want to be “astounded” and have a system that is “acceptable, tenable and sustainable,” we can start by fixing the problem that created the civil service and contractor imbalance.
Well, the week of 15 – 19 Feb 2010 was a fascinating one if you follow cybersecurity events. The bellwether stories are numerous, and reaction to them has been varied. Even if you don’t join in the debates of the blogosphere, it sure is fun to “watch.” On the serious side, these issues are all critical ones, and the number of experts (real ones, not the self-proclaimed variety) who hold widely varying positions shows the challenge of this field.
Have Goldman Sachs focused on their operational risks to the exclusion of all else, to the extent that their destruction is now politically convenient in the current US climate, and what tools could be used to achieve that end? I began, two weeks ago, by writing a blog entitled “Has Goldman Sachs caught the Blackwater Disease?” However, the more I explored the issue, the more I believe that the implications stretch wider. While I am not a fan of the concept of the “Perfect Storm,” I do believe Goldman Sachs has ignored non-financial risks at their peril. This blog is not a reflection on whether Goldman Sachs are good, bad or indifferent; it is a reflection upon how disregarding all risks can create the conditions to destroy a company, just when that company appears to be at the top of its game.
Privacy Experts Raise Concerns over Smart-Grid Technology – Give Me Back My Credit Blog
Given the myriad of problems facing the United States right now, you can be forgiven for not worrying about what information your water heater is sending to the US government. The fact of the matter is, right now, it is not sending the government any information. But the Obama administration wants to change that. In fact, it wants to know just about everything you are doing with major appliances in your home on a real time basis.
In Simulation, Government Reels From Cybershock – CQ Homeland Security
This time, it really was a killer app. Former members of the George W. Bush and Clinton administrations drew some real-life conclusions from a massive, make-believe cyber-attack Tuesday.
After two large snowstorms and a pathetically minor dusting, we can see how Washington responded to emergency weather. As FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate has so aptly put in numerous ways, “It’s time we treated the citizen as an asset and as a member of the response team, rather than as a liability,” and the 2010 Mother Nature Winter rampage has put forward some great issues that public and private sector leaders, as well as citizens, should be acting on.
The Bipartisan Policy Center, which has ported over the 9/11 Commission co-chairs, Lee Hamilton and Tom Keane, is coordinating the major cyber exercise this week. The U.S. Government has conducted closed versions of cyber war games several times before, and the results are held very closely. At other times, cyber attacks have been injected into broader exercise scenarios but almost always are abandoned because it “ruins” the wider training value. That means cyber brings the entire show to a halt because we really do not know how to deal with it.
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