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CNN Live Today

National Plan for Cybersecurity

Aired September 06, 2002 - 12:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to a security matter, one that's not on the ground or in the air.
CNN has learned the administration is preparing to unveil a national strategy for security in cyberspace.

Our Jeanne Meserve joins us from Washington to tell us all about that.

Hi, Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

The Internet connection into millions of computer networks, which run our telecommunications, energy, financial services, and other critical infrastructure. It is vital to national security, and it is vulnerable, accessible from almost every country on the globe to hackers, criminals, and terrorists. The central vision of the new strategy to secure cyberspace is that everyone is responsible for the piece of cyberspace, which they own or operate. The federal government cannot do the job on its own, and so the strategy will contain recommendations not just for government, but private industry higher education, even home users of the Internet.

The strategy will contain over 80 recommendations for action for example, a recommendation that electric power and pipeline companies consider disconnecting their supervisory control and data acquisitions from the Internet until they can install encryption authentication systems to ensure that only authorized users are accessing their systems.

Also, a recommendation that IT security personnel and IT security audit firms be tested and certified on a regular basis by a national public private board beginning no later than 2004. A recommendation that federal agencies consider installing within six months systems that check for unauthorized wireless connections to networks, and federal agencies should replace passwords for sign on with smart cards that could use biometrics, no later than fiscal year 2005.

The hope is that these recommendations will ensure that disruptions of cyberspace are infrequent, short and manageable, and that they cause a minimal amount of damage. Officials say there will be ongoing dialogue about the strategy, characterizing it as a living document that will be updated on the Web, as threats, vulnerabilities and technologies change. Experts from across the country were involved in putting the strategy together, from private industry, universities, even local law enforcement, and some of them will be at Stanford University on September 18th when the complete strategy is going to be unveiled -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jeanne Meserve, out of Washington, thank you.

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