Congress focuses on cybersecurity...sort of

Considering the intense workload Congress faces as the year comes to a close, there has been a surprising amount of attention on cybersecurity. The threat of cybercrime and cyberterrorism are entirely bi-partisan, according to an article from Federal News Radio, and both parties agree there are issues that need to be addressed.

There are 18 bills currently pending on cybersecurity, though according to Jim Lewis, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, progress probably won't be made until 2010 due to the rest of the legislative agenda.

There are some serious hurdles Congress will need to overcome. According to the Federal News Radio, Mike McConnell, the former Director of National Intelligence, stressed that Congress must move beyond adherence to secrecy when it comes to battling cybercrime, as was the custom during the Bush administration. An open and public discussion concerning national vulnerability, "even if it means revealing some of our thinking on what some of us might do in an attack scenario," is the proper path for moving forward with the issue.

The money for tech is another obstacle, according to Vivek Kundra, CIO at the Office of Management and Budget. The different procurement systems used by separate bureaus create the need for optimized spending within the federal government--something easier said than done.

Overall, McConnell believes the Congressional understanding of cybersecurity issues is improving, even if actual changes may be slow going.

For more:
- read the Federal News Radio article

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