Fw: [pignet]

Fri Dec 3 06:59:55 UTC 2004

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <andrew at ipasifika.net>
To: "Pacific Internet Users Group Mailing List" <pignet at lyris.spc.int>
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 2:47 PM
Subject: [pignet] The Politics are starting


> I found this in the Washington Post - Interesting?
> By Shaun Waterman
> UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
> Published December 2, 2004
>
> Former CIA Director George J. Tenet yesterday called for new security
> measures to guard against attacks on the United States that use the
> Internet, which he called "a potential Achilles' heel."
> "I know that these actions will be controversial in this age when we still
> think the Internet is a free and open society with no control or
> accountability," he told an information-technology security conference in
> Washington, "but ultimately the Wild West must give way to governance and
> control."
> The former CIA director said telecommunications -- and specifically the
> Internet -- are a back door through which terrorists and other enemies of
> the United States could attack the country, even though great strides have
> been made in securing the physical infrastructure.
> The Internet "represents a potential Achilles' heel for our financial
> stability and physical security if the networks we are creating are not
> protected," Mr. Tenet said.
> He said known adversaries, including "intelligence services, military
> organizations and non-state actors," are researching information attacks
> against the United States.
> Within the federal government, the Department of Homeland Security has the
> lead role in protecting the Internet from terrorism. But the department's
> head of cyber-security recently quit amid reports that he had clashed with
> his superiors.
> Mr. Tenet, who retired in July as director of the CIA after seven years,
> warned that al Qaeda remains a sophisticated group, even though its
> first-tier leadership largely has been destroyed.
> It is "undoubtedly mapping vulnerabilities and weaknesses in our
> telecommunications networks," he said.
> Mr. Tenet pointed out that the modernization of key industries in the
> United States is making them more vulnerable by connecting them with an
> Internet that is open to attack.
> The way the Internet was built might be part of the problem, he said. Its
> open architecture allows Web surfing, but that openness makes the system
> vulnerable, Mr. Tenet said.
> Access to networks like the World Wide Web might need to be limited to
> those who can show they take security seriously, he said.
> Mr. Tenet called for industry to lead the way by "establishing and
> enforcing" security standards. Products need to be delivered to government
> and private-sector customers "with a new level of security and risk
> management already built in."
> The national press, including United Press International (UPI), were
> excluded from yesterday's event, at Mr. Tenet's request, organizers said.
>
>
>
>
> Copyright © 2004 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
> Reagrds = Andrew
>
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