With cybersecurity issues dominating the headlines, the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) announced the creation of a new unit serve as a
coordination point for prevention, protection and response to Internet
attacks.
The new US-CERT unit is part of a partnership with Carnegie Mellon
University’s CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC). The DHS said
private-sector security vendors and domestic and international organizations
would be added to the unit in the future.
“These groups will work together to coordinate national and international
efforts to prevent cyber attacks, protect systems, and respond to the
effects of cyber attacks across the Internet,” the DHS said in a
statement.
The launch of the new unit comes on the same day the White House appointed
Symantec VP Amit Yoran to be its new cybersecurity czar. Yoran will be
responsible for implementing the administration’s National Strategy to
Secure Cyberspace, a report issued by the White House in February that
depends more on private industry cooperation than government mandates and
regulations.
At a briefing in Washington, D.C. Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Tom
Ridge described US-CERT as “a key element to our national strategy to combat
terrorism and protect our critical infrastructure.”
“The recent cyber attacks such as the Blaster worm and the SoBig virus
highlight the urgent need for an enhanced computer emergency response
program that coordinates national efforts to cyber incidents and attacks,”
Ridge added.
The federally funded Carnegie Mellon’s CERT/CC acts as a clearing house
for security alerts for the IT industry. It has played a key role in
coordinating responses to major threats like the Code Red worm, Melissa
virus, and most recently the MS Blaster worm and the Sobig.F virus.