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Tech Industry In Search of Leadership At White House Cyber Summit
chicksdaddy writes: President Obama travels to Stanford University on Friday to join Apple CEO Tim Cook in talking about the need for more private-public sector cooperation to fight cyber crime. But technology industry executives attending the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection complain that a major obstacle to cooperation is a lack of legislative action that clarify the rules of the road for private firms when it comes to sharing information about customers with the government and each other.
The controversy over government surveillance has put the ball in the government's court, said Michael Brown, RSA's Global Public Sector Vice President. "They need to articulate what amount of access to private information is 'appropriate and legal' for law enforcement and the government," Brown said. "It's not just about 'when, where, and how.' They also need to clearly articulate 'why' – for example: this is a matter of public safety and this is the only way we can get this information."
Also on the to-do list, say executives: a re-writing of the 80s-era Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and a federal data breach notification law that creates a consistent, national standard. Currently, 48 states have passed such laws, creating a compliance mess for private firms that discover they have leaked customer data.
The controversy over government surveillance has put the ball in the government's court, said Michael Brown, RSA's Global Public Sector Vice President. "They need to articulate what amount of access to private information is 'appropriate and legal' for law enforcement and the government," Brown said. "It's not just about 'when, where, and how.' They also need to clearly articulate 'why' – for example: this is a matter of public safety and this is the only way we can get this information."
Also on the to-do list, say executives: a re-writing of the 80s-era Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and a federal data breach notification law that creates a consistent, national standard. Currently, 48 states have passed such laws, creating a compliance mess for private firms that discover they have leaked customer data.
Fully agree. Where I last worked we lost tons of contracts and customers after the NSA revelations. Anyone in "Cloud" is currently having to build data centers over seas, specifically in the country requesting service. This is not cheap to coordinate or implement, so start ups and smaller companies without loads of capital are screwed currently.
Once again the "summit" lacks real technical expertise and view. CEOs are looking for how to gain from the summit as much as (or more) than trying to fix what is broken and why we have had tremendous dumping of US products and services. The simple truth is that the Government does not need unfettered back door access to every damn piece of data, but will pay our tax dollars to companies that give them access. (Another aspect that screws everyone but the big players).
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.