Can private firms help secure government networks?
If the federal government is going to better secure its networks from cyber attacks, it is essential that it cooperate and work more closely with the private sector. There is little doubt the two are intertwined, and that the government cannot operate in isolation. Last week, the Business Software Alliance that represents companies like Microsoft and Dell was emphatic about this issue. It urged the White House to share more threat and attack information with the industry, and to seek greater private sector assistance. “The Obama administration should open up the development of national cyber security policy to more industry participation, share more threat information with industry, launch a comprehensive national cybersecurity research and development [R&D] program, and preserve the government’s option to acquire commercial off-the-shelf [COTS] technology to meet its various needs,” the group said in a prepared statement. The business group noted that the private sector owns and opera
