“America is under widespread attack in cyberspace. Our freedom to use cyberspace is threatened by the actions of criminals, terrorists, and nations alike… The magnitude of cost, in terms of real dollars dedicated to defensive measures, lost intellectual capital and fraud cannot be overestimated… Unlike the air, land and sea domains, we lack dominance in cyberspace and could grow increasingly vulnerable if we do not fundamentally change how we view this battle-space.”
– General James E. Cartwright, Commander, United States Strategic Command, Testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, March 21, 2007*

Defending Cyberspace™ Conference

If you have missed the recent Business Week article on the "New E-spionage Threat" or the Forbes.com article about "Bush's Cyber Secrets Dilemma, check them out now. The potential for cyber terrorism is becoming the greatest threat to our country -- a threat directed at our military, our government, and our private sector.  Cyber perpetrators are threatening industry, commerce, and large and small companies alike. Sophisticated hostile organizations are gaining access to critical infrastructures, our intellectual property, and our trade and national secrets. Protecting most of our critical infrastructures -- banks, energy, industry, health -- falls onto the private sector working in partnership with the federal government.

Once attacked, government organizations and corporations are understandably reluctant to discuss the impact on their business or mission. Those that do speak publicly, talk only in the most general terms. However, in the background, corporations and government organizations are taking substantial steps to counter and defend themselves. These steps include technical solutions and organizational, cultural and procedural adaptations.

There are important lessons to be learned.  But now, information sharing is done only in the most clandestine groups. Private sector executives wonder how they can play a role in the government's Cyber Initiative, when that initiative has been kept secret. 

Join Chief Information Officers, Chief Security Officers and other executives from both the government and private sector to address the question: "How do we take the exchange of information out of back alleys and into the forefront of discussion."

Defending Cyberspace™ 2008  will focus on the nature of the threat and techniques to counter the threat, as well as opportunities to open the discussion and share best practices and methods to address confidentiality and secrecy. The Park City Center for Public Policy, in conjunction with Imadgen LLC, is convening this first exploratory symposium to begin the dialogue.

* Selected information from Cartwright testimony, and link to full testimony, at: http://www.iwar.org.uk/iwar/resources/news/cartwright-03-21-07.htm

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