The alliance press release, dated April 1, includes quotes praising the alliance and Cyber Security Day from FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle and Amit Yoran, DHS's National Cyber Security Division director. However, the statement is short on new information. Instead, it rehashes well-worn programs such as the FTC's September 2002 educational initiative featuring "Dewie" the turtle, AOL's educational instant messaging robot "AOLSafetyBot" and Symantec's free "Symantec Security Check," when describing "sponsor activities" for the latest National Cyber Security Day.
Cyber Security Day in April may have been the victim of intense planning for the next Cyber Security Day, in October, Nahigian said.
The group is planning something "very large" for that day that will include corporate and government involvement. "We're really reaching out to the Hill," he said, referring to Capitol Hill.
The low-key observance of Cyber Security Day in April belies an "overwhelming" amount of work behind the scenes on alliance task forces to device cybersecurity strategies, he said.
"Members of the alliance have been working across the board," he said.
However, one cybersecurity veteran and an alliance member said he wasn't even aware of the approaching Cyber Security Day and has doubts about the group's effectiveness.
"I didn't even know. I'm embarrassed," said Alan Paller, research director of the SANS Institute when asked about the event on Monday.
"It is so ineffective at anything other than having meetings. ... It's hard to even guess what's going on," Paller said.
Projects like the www.staysafeonline.info Web site are a good idea, but add little to the work already being done by agencies like the FTC, Paller said. Paller also doubts whether improving user awareness -- the ostensible purpose of the alliance -- will make a difference while software security vulnerabilities persist.
"The software (alliance members) sell is so completely flawed (that) user education is useless," he said.
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
Recommend This
