Glitz and glamour found in cybersecurity

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Glitz and glamour found in cybersecurity

The Obama Administration unveiled its International Cybersecurity Strategy at a White House event. The Sans Institute\'s Alan Paller told Federal News Radio he ...

Federal News Network Staff

May 17, 2011 9:30 am

2 min read

wfedstaff | June 4, 2015 12:40 am

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By Suzanne Kubota
Senior Internet Editor
FederalNewsRadio.com

The Obama Administration unveiled its International Cybersecurity Strategy at a White House event. The strategy says the U.S. hopes to achieve its vision for cyberspace through 3 Ds – diplomacy, defense and development.

Alan Paller, Vice President for Research at Sans Institute, who was on hand for the White House’s announcement told Federal News Radio he could tell from the beginning, this was no ordinary cyber strategy launch.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in the audience, even at a White House briefing grabbing their iPhones and taking pictures.”

Paller told Federal News Radio he was dazzled by the star quality of the announcement.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano addresses the White House Launch of the International Strategy for Cyberspace in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, May 16, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

“It was Hillary Clinton, herself, there. It was Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States. It was Bill Lynn, the Deputy Secretary of Defense,” said Paller. “Those aren’t the usual suspects,” he added, laughing. “Those aren’t the people you see at a cyber announcement.”

After examining the White House’s policy, Paller said it continued to break the mold. Strategies, said Paller, “are sometimes plans to do plans. In this case, I think there’s a big change.”

That change, he said, is based on the origins of the internet. “We built the internet. And for a long time, a lot of people thought of it as an American internet and everyone else was a guest.” That, said Paller, has changed slowly over the past decade as other countries realize how dependent they are on it, and “started to take over the international governance of it.”

Now, said Paller, this policy has said, “it’s no longer our internet. We have to engage with other countries if we want to play a major role in shaping the future of the internet.”

For more on this story, see US outlines global plan for cyberspace

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily Cybersecurity Update. For more cybersecurity news, click here.