Instead of pursuing strict regulations to guard against cyberterrorism, the federal government and technology industry have decided to jointly develop voluntary standards. Critics say that won’t properly protect consumers from online pranksters, hackers and identity thieves. Members of the CEO Cyber Security Task Force, formed last month after the Palo Alto, Calif.-based trade group TechNet approached federal officials, say their standards would be akin to a “Good Housekeeping seal of approval” for computer security. In theory, consumers who visit Web sites that display a certification logo would have an extra measure of peace of mind. Plans call for a public awareness campaign in late summer to push the initiative. Critics believe, though, that the voluntary standards will promote a false sense of security – and could even encourage attacks.”As soon as a business advertises that it’s adopted a security standard, hackers will take that as a challenge,” said Victor Wheatman, vice president for information security at Gartner Research. “Getting certified is like painting a bull’s eye for hackers.”Howard Schmidt, special adviser to the president for Cyberspace Security, acknowledged that many companies may snub the standards. Full Story
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