Securing cyberspace.(Selected Topic)

Publication: Business Credit

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COPYRIGHT 2003 National Association of Credit Management

An article in The Washington Post on May 20, 2003 explained how a Washington D.C.-based provider of ethnology for online payment transactions was attacked by a group of hackers from Russia. The nightmare started when the provider received an e-mail from someone who identified himself as "Alex," saying that his company's security had been compromised, and that he (Alex) would like to help him. The offer of help was, of course, a threat: it would cost him $500,000 for the "help." Alex belonged to a group he identified as the "Expert Group of Protection Against Hackers." Much later, investigation of this group by the FBI resulted in them finding 2,700 megabytes of data--hacking programs, extortion letters, credit card numbers--to help them build their case against the hackers. Eventually, several people were arrested, after being lured to the U.S. with a job offer.

The United States has taken the lead in recent years, in trying to get other countries to cooperate in cybercrime investigations. It came to an agreement with the governments of the world's biggest industrialized countries to create a way for them to more easily share information and to make Internet service providers save data about break-ins. As part of this agreement, U.S. authorities have also sent attorneys and agents to travel around the world to train foreign intelligence officials regarding how to investigate such crimes. They are urging other countries to draft laws making hacking illegal; but in the end, it is up to individual nations to decide whether they want to help.

Hacking has reached crisis levels in the past few years--the average U.S. company is attacked 30 times a week, according to online security firm Symantec Corp. Most are not serious; they are efforts to scan computer networks for vulnerabilities; however a significant number--about 15 percent--are attempted or successful intrusions.

Following are excerpts from the document "The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace" that the editors of Business Credit magazine thought you would find interesting, as our reliance on cyberspace will only continue to grow in the years ahead.

Securing cyberspace is a complex and evolving challenge. The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace was developed in close collaboration with key sectors of the economy that rely on cyberspace, state and local governments, colleges and universities, and concerned organizations. Cyberspace and the networks that connect to it now support our economy and provide for our national and homeland defense. This national dependency must be managed with continuous efforts to secure the cyber systems that control our infrastructures.

Town hall meetings were held around the country, and fifty-three clusters of key questions were published to spark public debate. In addition, a draft version of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace was shared with the Nation for public comment. The response was overwhelming. The public-private partnerships that formed in response to this call have developed their own strategies to protect the parts of cyberspace on which they rely. This unique partnership and process was, and will continue to be necessary because the majority of the country's cyber resources are controlled by entities outside of government. For the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace to work it must be a plan in which a broad cross-section of the country is both invested and committed.

The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace identifies five national priorities that will help us achieve this ambitious goal. These are: (1) a national cyberspace security response system; (2) a national cyberspace security threat and vulnerability reduction program; (3) a national cyberspace security awareness and training program; (4) securing governments' cyberspace; and (5) national security and international cyberspace security cooperation. These five priorities will serve to prevent, deter...

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