Cybersecurity task forces push for results

Five working groups formed at the National Cyber Security Summit released initial reports that focus on delivering concrete results within a year, task force leaders said Thursday. The working groups have pledged to release white papers by March 1, 2004, that outline their recommendations for securing businesses and consumers and creating more secure software. The next meeting, tentatively set for September 2004, will be the deadline for each group to deliver at least some results. “A concern is that if we were to meet in (a year), can we show progress?” said Mary Ann Davidson, chief security officer at database maker Oracle and the co-chair of the Technical Standards and Common Criteria Task Force, one of the five working groups. “Even if we make recommendations, we should prioritize, and one of the priorities should be showing results in a year or less.” The quick deadlines are a nod to the urgency expressed by policy makers and consumers. Critics have snubbed the United States’ cybersecurity policy–the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace–as largely voluntary and lacking regulatory prescriptions. The National Cyber Security Summit, sponsored by four industry associations, showed that businesses have at least taken some of the criticism to heart. The four organizations that sponsored the Summit were the Business Software Alliance, the Information Technology Association of America, the TechNet lobbying group and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Full Story