House backs cybersecurity

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House backs cybersecurity with dollars


By Reuters
February 7, 2002, 3:40 PM PT


WASHINGTON--The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to dramatically boost federal spending on computer security, authorizing $880 million over five years for research, scholarships and other incentives.
By a vote of 400 to 12, the House agreed to devote $105.7 million to new cybersecurity programs in fiscal 2003, increasing to $229 million in fiscal 2007.

The new funds would come on top of the roughly $60 million the federal government currently devotes to network security.



The National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Standards and Technology would hand out the money in the form of research grants, fellowships and internships for students, and funds to improve undergraduate and master's degree programs in network security.

In the Senate, Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden will introduce a companion bill within the next few weeks, a Wyden aide said.

The attacks of Sept. 11 on the United States heightened concerns about the vulnerability of the nation's telecommunications, Internet and other vital networks to computer-based attack.

In several hearings this fall, experts told Congress the nation needed to spend more money to encourage long-term academic research in cybersecurity to supplement efforts by commercial software companies.

New York Republican Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, who sponsored the bill, compared it to legislation that boosted science education after the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik satellite in the late 1950s.

The bill "will come to be seen as a fundamental turning point in the nation's approach to cybersecurity," Boehlert said in remarks on the House floor.

Boehlert told reporters the bill took a long-range approach and any improvements would likely not be seen for years.

"We're not going to solve the problem in half an hour," he said.

Business groups praised the bill's passage, noting that cybersecurity attacks have increased dramatically in the past several years.

Frank Vargo, a lobbyist with the National Association of Manufacturers, said the bill was one of the most important Congress would pass all year, as most businesses have come to rely on the Internet and networked computers for their operations.

"You shut that computer network down, that company is closed," Vargo said.

Boehlert's House Science Committee also approved a bill in December that would increase spending on broader high-tech research by 10 percent per year over the next five years, giving the money to a wide range of government agencies that would be required to coordinate their efforts.

That bill will come up for a vote on the House floor "in a few weeks," Boehlert told reporters.

Story Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

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Good article Rogue. ;)
Damn, $880 M. on security...
I want the software/hardware
they're using to protect their boxes!

Remote_Access_

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The new funds would come on top of the roughly $60 million the federal government currently devotes to network security.

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Damn. . . I'de like to see what kind of security costs $60 mill. . . . We could have some fun wit that. Bah!!! I bet they are running Norton or something stupid. . . haha!!

Yeah, I would too but
I don't think that sort of
security will be available
for the general public
untill the government has
found a better type of
security for their systems.
Hehe, i coulda swore that
norton was only $60.00
not $60M..

Remote_Access_

Good reading !

Lots of money, lots of money. But security is expensive and its more expensive to defend then to attack thats a sad fact :(. Its nice to read that atleast someone takes really seriously on information security, were can I find the article? Would like to print it out and hang it up in the coffe room for our bosses :).

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"$105.7 million to new cybersecurity programs"

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What programs? How to attend? Would like some of those $ in my own pocket :D.

Here is the link to the story.

http://news.com.com/2100-1001-832261.html

Enjoy.

Thats the US sorted then, what about the rest of us? :(

Maybe if I forward rogue's post to 10 Downing Street we might get a similar response from over here.... pffffffft ........ sure we will.

ps nice quote roguespy


:)

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Originally posted by RogueSpy

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Woohoo! write your proposals and get your grants!
:cool:

Here is an update to this news article I posted the other day. Enjoy.

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House Panel To Examine Another Net Security Bill

By Robert MacMillan, Newsbytes
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A.,
08 Feb 2002, 12:55 PM CST

Following a vote in the House of Representatives this week on an $880 million bill to fund cybersecurity research, a House subcommittee said that next week it will hold a hearing on another Internet and network security bill. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime said that it will hold a hearing Tuesday on H.R. 3482, the Cyber Security Enhancement Act.

Sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., the bill would require the U.S. Sentencing Commission to change its guidelines on sentencing people convicted of computer crimes.

The commission would have to consider issues such as the level of sophistication of the attack, whether the crime was committed for commercial or private financial gain and whether the offense involved an attack on government networks.

Another provision in the bill would give liability protection to ISPs that make a "good faith" effort to help law enforcement agencies track suspects over their networks.

Boehlert is also the sponsor of H.R. 3394, the Cyber Security Research and Development Act, the $880 million bill that passed the House in a 400-12 vote Thursday.

The money would be split between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for use in cybersecurity research efforts.

Under the House legislation, the funds earmarked for the NSF would be distributed in the form of grants for cybersecurity research projects and cash incentives to universities and other institutions to develop private computer-security research centers.

The portion of the funds allotted to NIST would be earmarked for long-term "high-risk" cybersecurity research.

Newsbytes.com Staff Writer Brian Krebs contributed to this story.

Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com .

12:55 CST
Reposted 13:17 CST

© 2002 The Washington Post Company

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I know for a fact that the Air Force uses Tiny's firewall. They paid for Tiny's R&D for next three years from their purchase. Now wouldn't it be nice if you're company got it's R&D paid for by the U.S. armed forces? They bought upwards of 10,000 seats in one shot. Nice day for the sales guy there.