Obama's cybersecurity initiative wins praise

U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement Friday of a new cybersecurity push by the U.S. government won widespread praise from the technology industry, with many people saying his attention to the issue is a major step toward better securing the nation's computer networks.

Obama's announcement and an accompanying cybersecurity report largely contained ideas long called for by various cybersecurity experts, but the largest benefit of Friday's announcement was that Obama lent his name to the fight against cybercrime, said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, a trade group focused on cybersecurity.

"A lot of the things that were discussed this morning have been said before, but it is a very big deal when the president says them," Clinton said. "The fact that this is elevated to the presidential level ... that is a big deal."

Obama announced that he will appoint a national cybersecurity coordinator, who will report directly to the president, and the U.S. government will collaborate with private groups to create a comprehensive national cybersecurity policy. The White House will also designate cybersecurity as a key management initiative and develop metrics for measuring improvements, Obama said.

The U.S. government will create a national cybersecurity education program, and it will invest in cybersecurity research and development, the president announced.

Cybersecurity experts and some lawmakers have long called for the U.S. government to focus more on cybersecurity, and Obama's announcement Friday gives the issue a much-needed boost, Clinton and other cybersecurity experts said.

Clinton and Bob Dix, vice president of government affairs at Juniper Networks, also praised Obama for saying that the new cybersecurity coordinator will be a member of both the U.S. National Security Agency and the National Economic Council. "That's important because it means the president understands the need not just to look at the cybersecurity issue as a discreet, boutique technology issue -- which is the way a lot of people have treated it -- but rather as a fundamental element that affects all of our economy," Clinton said.

The major concern about the announcement was that it lacked detail. Obama didn't name a cybersecurity adviser, and the administration's cybersecurity strategy has yet to be developed.

"I think we're headed in a new direction," said Phil Dunkelberger, CEO of PGP, a vendor of cybersecurity products. "I think time is going to tell if it's the right direction."

The details of the plan will determine whether it's successful, Dunkelberger said.

Still, Dunkelberger said he was "pleasantly surprised" with Obama's speech. Former President George Bush also had a goal of improving cybersecurity, but Obama said cybersecurity is a personal goal, he said.

Obama has made cybersecurity a top priority, and he stressed that organizations and the U.S. government need accountability and responsibility for cybersecurity, Dunkelberger said. "For the first time I've seen accountability has been mentioned as a part of this," he said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.