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DoD Sharing Threat Data With Critical Industries 55

Hugh Pickens writes "The Washington Post reports that for the past two years, the Defense Department has been collaborating with critical industries to stem the loss of important defense industry data — by some estimates at least $100 billion worth over that time. The Pentagon is considering ways to share its threat data with other industries including telecommunications and Internet service providers, led by the DoD's Cyber Crime Center, the clearinghouse for threat data from the NSA, military agencies, the DHS, and industry. The Pentagon's trial program with industry illuminates the promise and the pitfalls of such partnerships: a reluctance of intelligence and law enforcement agencies to release threat data they consider classified, and the companies' fear of losing control over personal or proprietary information. 'This isn't just about national security,' says Barbara Fast, vice president of Boeing Cyber Solutions. 'It's about the economic well-being of the United States.'"
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DoD Sharing Threat Data With Critical Industries

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  • Send it with my bailout check soon please.

    • by FriendlyLurker ( 50431 ) on Tuesday May 26, 2009 @04:09AM (#28092285)

      national security...It's about the economic well-being of the United States

      As Major General Smedley Darlington Butler [wikipedia.org], Americas most highly decorated Marine by the time of his death pointed out in his short book War is a racket [wikipedia.org]; all military/spy agency has ever been is about "economic well-being" for a select few, and was _never_ about National Security. Using his unmatched experience "protecting" the US around the world, he went on to explain why economic well being and real National Security are apposing goals.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by adavies42 ( 746183 )
        how can you possibly expect me to take someone named "Smedley Darlington Butler" seriously?
        • Well, he was properly cited; so why not? Maybe he is deserving of your trust & respect? (so let's forget the silly semantics of his given name?)

        • by jo42 ( 227475 )

          The Americans elected someone named "George Bush [urbandictionary.com]" to the presidency several times.

        • by WED Fan ( 911325 )

          how can you possibly expect me to take someone named "Smedley Darlington Butler" seriously?

          He's friends with Doctor Charles Emerson Winchester.

          Score +1 for the non-tech pop reference.

        • That seems damned silly. I grew up with an Anglo background, and many African names sound "odd" to my ears. Some eastern European names do as well. Ditto with Asian and Arab names. I should make fun of, and dismiss, anyone with a name that I'm not accustomed to? You suggest that a scientific discovery made by someon in India may not have much value, simply because I have no idea how to pronounce his name? Ethnocentrism really has little value in today's world..... I haven't even looked to see just wh

        • by ardle ( 523599 )
          Ah, now I know what's been going wrong: we keep on giving jobs that should be taken seriously to people with silly names!
          Examples [wikipedia.org]:
          • Ban Ki-moon
          • Kofi Annan
          • Boutros Boutros-Ghali

          Coincidence?

        • by neomunk ( 913773 )

          That man stopped the most dangerous coup attempt [wikipedia.org] the U.S. had ever seen to that point.

      • by Phrogman ( 80473 )

        The primary purpose of the US Government and the US Military is to protect the economic interests of major US companies, each according to their campaign contributions. History is littered with examples of the US Government sending in the troops to ensure some local National Government didn't attempt to take over US commercial interests, or the CIA to overthrow a Government (legally elected or otherwise) that might disagree with US Corporate interests. I will likely get modified Troll and Flamebait but its

  • Really? (Score:4, Funny)

    by noundi ( 1044080 ) on Tuesday May 26, 2009 @03:36AM (#28092139)

    "It's about the economic well-being of the United States."

    It's about my stock options damn it!

    • "It's about the economic well-being of the United States."

      It's about my stock options damn it!

      Yeah, thats what I said about my stock options too. Didn't help me none either

  • by daveime ( 1253762 ) on Tuesday May 26, 2009 @04:02AM (#28092253)

    'This isn't just about national security,' says Barbara Fast, vice president of Boeing Cyber Solutions. 'It's about the economic well-being of the United States.'

    Of course. How is the CIA supposed to sell military tech to 3rd world despots and dictators, if the bastards keep stealing it for free ?

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Jurily ( 900488 )

      How is the CIA supposed to sell military tech to 3rd world despots and dictators, if the bastards keep stealing it for free ?

      Considering weapons is just about the only thing not Made In China, that could actually be a good thing.

      • So it's okay with you the actual selling of weapons to those kind of 3rd world dictators, provided they have "proudly made in USA" stamped on the side, and not "made in PRC" ?

        Scary, but for some reason, not surprising.

        • by Jurily ( 900488 )

          So it's okay with you the actual selling of weapons to those kind of 3rd world dictators, provided they have "proudly made in USA" stamped on the side, and not "made in PRC" ?

          I don't give a crap either way. I live in Hungary.

        • Well. Not better than leaving them in the hands of the 1st world dictators, is it? ^^

      • Considering weapons is just about the only thing not Made In China,

        I wouldn't count on that.

  • Sorry, but how is this going to affect the always praised market?

    If one company has good contacts with the military, then how on earth is a small start-up going to compete for new contracts?

    In my humble opinion, the best way to achieve a safe industry is to nationalize it completely... permanently destroy all competition, and assign some big shot military guy as CEO of the company. Especially defense industry only has the government as customer, so why not make it a national (non-profit, and very safe) indu

  • by gnieboer ( 1272482 ) on Tuesday May 26, 2009 @05:11AM (#28092483)

    This isn't a military-industrial complex conspiracy issue, nor exploiting the rest of the world.

    It highlights that 'national security' of any country is much more complicated than days gone by. The 'military' can no longer guarantee security by having lots of ships and planes etc. A hacker taking out the electrical grid certainly is a threat to national security, but not a threat that can be fended off by the military.

    Why not? Because as most here would know, to do that would require military 'jurisdiction' over every network node and server and firewall defending something deemed 'important'.

    Since despite general cynicism on the topic, the US still is one of the most free societies on the planet, they clearly would despise such an option. So instead working together as a team makes just way too much sense.

    The concerning side is valid as well... giving the same dingbats that can't secure a basic firewall the responsibility for securing -actual- classified intelligence should worry us all as well.

    Of course the answer is halfway, companies need to beef up their controls and the government then needs to share. We're all in this together. And yes, in this 'new' global economy, I mean everyone, but just those pesky Americans...

    • -edit- NOT just those pesky Americans

    • would require military 'jurisdiction' over every network node and server and firewall defending something deemed 'important'.

      The military defend against threats in the air and on sea without having jurisdiction over those domains. You identified data security for the electricity grid as a vulnerability. Perhaps a military security agency could deploy measures to protect that specific asset.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by gnieboer ( 1272482 )

        Well, they actually do have jurisdiction over (their) air and sea, through NORAD for the air for instance. They just normally don't exercise it, leaving things to the FAA.

        To do it right, to 'deploy measures' to protect a commercial asset (be it company or public utility), the gov't agency would have to take over configuration control of the servers that hold the data, the firewall, and active directory (or whatever is in use). Just securing the perimeter doesn't cut it in a 'best practice' environment.
        Now

  • by toby ( 759 ) * on Tuesday May 26, 2009 @05:18AM (#28092533) Homepage Journal

    Stop doing what made you a target in the first place. This means, inconveniently, undoing:

    • 50 years of foreign policy prior to "9/11";
    • Doubly so, the embarrassing eight years since "9/11".

    Good luck.

    • Good network and general computer security applies regardless of political behaviour. Even if you completely agree with the past foreign policy, the actual security policy that seems to be applied in most cases is abysmal.
    • Wouldn't make a difference. Compliance is regarded as weakness, which is regarded with contempt.

      "We are not fighting so that you will offer us something. We are fighting to eliminate you."
      --Hussein Massawi, Hezbollah leader

    • Securing infrastructure has nothing to do with politics. Do you honestly think Islamic terrorists have a rational political stance and that compliance will lead to some historically unseen in humankind age of peace? No, compliance with religious nuts will lead to collapse. Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, et al want destruction of their enemies and to shift the world to a brutal form of Islam, little else.

      While the US, like any other powerful country, has a questionable historical track record, I would rather have it

  • The Pentagon is considering ways to share its threat data with other industries including telecommunications and Internet service providers, led by the DoD's Cyber Crime Center...

    Certainly the military should be protecting their own infrastructure, but civilian infrastructure should be handled by DHS. There's no justification for mission creep when there are agencies with the charter and authority to address those issues.

    We have the CIA, FBI, NSA and Homeland Security. Isn't that enough? Why isn't D

  • 'This isn't just about national security,' says Barbara Fast, vice president of Boeing Cyber Solutions. 'It's about the economic well-being of the United States.'

    How long until the RIAA finds someone in the chain of command to convince that it's in an economic imperative that music pirates need to be stopped, and get a direct DoD data feed of P2P IP data?

  • They can obviously detect threats; every time a supposedly-secure DoD computer gets hacked by a worm, they can just publish the results...

  • this will include foreign competitor Info

    obtained by Echelon

    obtained by Root Boot Trojans.

    now DoD says openly what they did since more than a decade

  • ... the DoD is working with critical industries to secure defense industry data. And then Boeing is mentioned.

    It sounds to me like the DoD is stepping into 'help' them clean up security holes. 'Help' is a nice way of saying that they'll get be getting their asses kicked.

  • If you thought the no-fly list was bad, wait until you end up on the no-programmer-jobs list...

    How long before they decide that if your surname is Hyaka, that that sounds like hacker and ban you from working for anyone who supplies the government.

    A long time ago I lost a job based on the fact that I hadn't completed my degree. My employer knew that I didn't have it, but they had a contract to develop software for the US DoD who noticed and threatened to pull all of their contracts if they didn't get rid of

  • It is hilarious to me that we have this big DoD initiative to protect "defense" secrets, but in the name of profit we ship silicon wafer manufacturing technology and all kinds of advanced robotics anywhere labor rates are lower than America's.

    Just how stupid do you have to be to believe that nobody can translate the guts - the design - of a pick-and-place robot that operates in four dimensions while putting circuit boards and PCs together into a missile guidance system? Or to assume that you cannot use a s

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