"Cyber security is critical to both our nation's physical and economic well-being. After the terrorist events of September 11th, it is more imperative than ever to secure our nation's systems from attack," said McCurdy.
"More than 15,000 incidents were reported this year to the CERT/Coordination Team at Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute in the first and second quarters of 2001 (compared to 21,756 incidents reported for all of 2000). Internet attacks are reported on the rise and latest attacks like the NIMDA worm have wrecked havoc on systems everywhere and in some places are still viable," McCurdy continued.
"We commend the President for his leadership in recognizing the risk to our nation inherent in cyber attacks. His selection of Richard Clarke as director of the Office of Cyber Security, who has served as the key counter-terrorism expert at the National Security Council for the last decade, provides continuity of effort in this important challenge."
"We look forward to working together with our counterparts within the government to ensure both public and private infrastructures are at the lowest possible risk for attack. However, cyber security is a global problem – we cannot erect walls and implement legislation within the U.S. and think we will be safe. Industry must take a starring role in this effort for it to be successful."
"Our corporations are on the front lines of defense against cyber attack. If they are not taking the proper precautions to secure their own infrastructures, the global economic ramifications of a targeted cyber attack could be staggering. Our nation's industries need to develop a minimum of standards they must meet in order to better secure their supply chains. Industries across the board need to recognize the liability they face if action is not taken to properly protect their own systems."
About ISAlliance The Internet Security Alliance is a collaborative effort between Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and its CERT Coordination Center̉ (CERT/CC) and the Electronics Industries Alliance (EIA), a federation of trade associations.
The Internet Security Alliance is focused on helping its members improve the security and survivability of their Internet-connected systems as well as the overall security of the Internet. ISA is the only industry-led, cross-sector, international organization that is fully operational and currently addressing this need by providing of up-to-the-minute threat and vulnerability reports, development of best practice standards, and risk management strategies.
ISAlliance brings together EIA's expertise in public policy and 75-year history in standard-setting with the internationally recognized work of a major research university.
EIA is a national trade organization with more than 2,300 member companies, representing the full spectrum of U.S. manufacturers representing more than 80 percent of the $550 billion electronics industry. The EIA mission is promoting the market development and competitiveness of the U.S. high tech industry through domestic and international policy efforts.
The CERT Coordination Center̉ contributes insight and experience in the areas of computer security incident handling, incident and vulnerability analysis, development and implementation of information security practices, risk assessment methodologies, and information survivability research.
For more information about the Internet Security Alliance, please visit the ISAlliance website at: www.isalliance.org.
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