By Jen DiMascio
A “downpour” of spending on cyber security is expected in 2008 and 2009, a homeland security lawyer said recently.
Last year, a number of security breaches were reported, including incidents that caused 1,500 Pentagon computers to be shut down. The Government Accountability Office issued at least 18 reports on cyber security last year, including reports uncovering problems within the Department of Defense.
Now administration officials are calling cyber security a top priority–particularly within the Department of Homeland Security and for the Director of National Intelligence, according to David Bodenheimer, a partner at Crowell and Moring LLP, which recently sponsored a panel discussion on the issue.
Along those lines President Bush is quietly advancing what industry sources say is a classified $30 billion, nine-year effort to block cyber terrorism. Last month, Bush signed presidential directives regarding homeland security and national security.
The leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I/D-Conn.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said this week that they are interested in pursuing hearings about the cyber security during this session.
But Democrats on the Hill, including Lieberman, said they have not yet received access to or details about the president’s directives.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has been battling for information about the initiative since last October, raising questions about potential constitutional and privacy issues.
Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, staff director Thompson’s committee, spoke at the forum on cyber security last week. Flanigan said she is still trying to learn more about the directives and has a number of questions about how the initiative would work. For instance, the initiative is likely to involve a number of agencies, and how all those agencies would work together is particularly important, Flanigan said. The committee is pushing for release of an unclassified version of the directives.
In the past, the government has been moved to act on information security issues only after major problems erupt, Flanigan said. This time, she said she hopes efforts to intervene are more effective. The administration is clearly moving ahead, evident by the amount of money it is beginning to push toward the problem. Last year, President Bush added $152 million in a November budget amendment for cyber security.
Industry saw that as a sign of things to come, according to Kevin Richards, federal government relations manager for Symantec.
That kick-start and the cyber initiative will be a boon for certain firms, Bodenheimer said.
“The bottom line is for companies that can protect secrets there are huge opportunities. For companies that cannot, the door is closing,” he said.