Ready For Help From Big Brother?

Cybersecurity is an issue that impacts everyone. The bad guys do not care about whom they hurt as long as they take advantage of someone. So, sentiment is growing for private enterprises and the government to work together against the hooligans.Despite companies and individuals pouring billions of dollars into security products, problems from malware continue to grow: 63 percent of federal, state and local government, and private sector IT executives believe they are under an increased threat this year compared to last year and 82 percent have placed a higher priority on information security this year. The federal government is trying to be more proactive. It has been pushing the National Cyber Security Initiative, a proposal that would set aside more than $30 billion over the next seven to 10 years to improve cybersecurity Yet, what are they going to do with the information gathered once the money is spent? Most companies feel that the government will keep it: in fact, 78 percent of private companies want the government to release more information about cyber threats, according to a survey of 600 users from Symantec.

In general, little information is now shared among private companies, federal and state governments. The survey found that 68 percent of federal, 59 percent of private sector, and 48 percent of state and local respondents call for increased collaboration to improve their responses to cyber threats. Such exchanges could benefit all parties because each is strong in some areas and weak in others. The federal government is leading the charge in preparedness exercises and automating security reporting, areas state and local agencies and the private sector are not as diligent. Cyber attack fire drills are also more common in federal agencies: 63 percent of federal respondents reported their organization has participated in such exercises compared to 39 percent of private sector institutions and 32 percent of state and local respondents. The federal government is also using automated tools more effectively than most organizations: 64 percent of federal respondents have automated threat reporting compared to 44 percent of private sector and 38 percent of state and local respondents.

The bad guys use various Web sites to share information all of the time Web sites. It is time that those fighting them learn to do the same. Working together may not mean an end to cyber crimes, but it may enable the good guys to fight these problems more effectively.

How much interaction do you have with the local government? How about the federal government? What do you see as the pluses and minuses of increased sharing of data among the different organizations?