Last January the Bush administration quietly approved a new effort to secure the government’s and private sector’s computer networks from attack. It created an office to spearhead the effort and placed it in the Department of Homeland Security. The secretive new entity has been named the National Cyber Security Center and just the other day it got its first boss.
The center’s new chief is a published author and entrepreneur – Rod Beckstrom who will work directly for DHS chief Michael Chertoff. (Beckstrom co-authored a book – The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations – that has been building a following in military and government intelligence communities.)
The center’s primary mission will be developing effective ways to block terrorists, spies and hackers from penetrating sensitive systems, including military and other site networks, which are seen as increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks. Few details are known publicly about the new office but a February 1, 2008 letter http://www.bsa.org/country/News%20and%20Events/News% 20Archives/National%20Security%20Presidential%20Directive.aspx to the President from the Business Software Alliance suggests that the government can benefit from ongoing private sector work in this vital area.
According to published reports, the White House envisions spending up to $30 billion over seven years to back the new center’s efforts.