U.S. Cybersecurity Not So Secure?

freaktheclown writes "According to CNet, 'government auditors have been saying that Homeland Security has failed to live up to its cybersecurity responsibilities and may be 'unprepared' for emergencies.'" The article discusses FEMA's handling of relief efforts for hurricane Katrina and how a very similar situation exists with electronic security measures in the U.S. In addition to a conjecture the department of cybersecurity has been "plagued by a series of damning reports, accusations of bureaucratic bungling, and a rapid exodus of senior staff that's worrying experts and industry groups."

Comments

A history of unfavorable gov't security reports

[sczimme]

Much of the Federal government has a sub-optimal track record in the security arena. In March of 2004 Rick Forno published an article (with links) that summarized Uncle Sam's security issues:

The farce of federal cybersecurity

(That's the title Rick used, btw.)

Re:That's what happens when unqualified people..

[stilwebm]

A couple of years ago I enjoyed a speech and follow-up discussion with the Middle Tennessee Infragard president, who held (and currently holds) several high level security positions after many years of underground security experience. He worked closely with federal employees and appointees. His observation was not that the appointees were chosen by political affiliation or felt it necessary to follow a political agenda. The problem was that the appointees had to negotiate an unfamiliar system of red tape and even wait congress to approve certain measures. It is hard to act quick, something that cybersecurity often demands. The frustration leads to high turnover, especially when lucrative private sector offers enter the picture.

Becoming qualified makes you qualified.

[khasim]

Unless he has some senior officer who does all that work for him- in which case, that senior officer ought to be runnign the show.

And that used to be the way these things were run. The head of the agency was a political appointee. But s/he had long term professionals working for him/her. Those professionals worked for multiple administrations and were not involved in the political games. They did their jobs and were the experts in their fields.

Check TFA and you'll see where it's talking about those professionals leaving now.

Re:That was known years ago.

[Pig Hogger]

There was a plot to fly a plane into the Eiffel Tower. We've known planes were considered as weapons for years.

Yeah, and unlike 9/11, the french managed to foil that plot. (And the french warned the US in advance of 9/11 but they didn't listen).

Re:That's what happens when unqualified people..

[Anonymous Coward]

First:
I find it amusing that the Right Wingers out there have latched on to this mantra of "Democrats believe the Bush caused Katrina, what idiots".. I couldn't figure it out at first and then I realized that this was an unclever ploy to make Liberals look stupid somehow.. except that I couldn't find any Liberals actually ever even IMPLYING Bush was responsible for "causing" Katrina..

What Liberals were saying (right or wrong) is that it wasn't handled appropriately and Bush even agreed and took responsibility for this.

So please do yourself a favor and stop regurgitating whatever Fox News feeds you. (the origins that Democrats were even suggesting that came from Ben Stein http://www.snopes.com/katrina/soapbox/benstein.asp )

Let's see you like to talk a lot of officially approved Right Wing propaganda, but who had the highest death toll from Katrina? .. Which State? I'll help you out.. Starts with an L and ends with an A.
Here's a little link for your narrow mind.. Please click on it, it will help to educate you:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/33 87284

Let's see Louisiana had 1003 dead, Missisippi which you claim was hit the hardest only had 221 people dead.. Let's see I guess math escapes you, that's almost 5 times as many dead in Lousiana.

Maybe you should get your facts straight and do a little bit of research from alternative news sources before you go off spouting the misinformed Fox News spinning of the facts.

US changed or under panic?

[gaanagaa]

Am I the only person who is tired of the rhetoric "Since September 11th, each and every American's life has changed"? For those outside of the goverment, and particularly the military, has it really? Certainly we have mangled the Bill of Rights beyond recognition, but am I the only one whose reaction to the 2nd attack on the WTC was "well, it finally happened?" And the notion that using commercial airliners as weapons was unthought of? Given that Tom Clancy is a best selling author, the odds that no one in US security infrastructure read about that scenario is close to zero.