ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: The Heritage Foundation
Special report Backgrounder #2513
compiled by 
Visiting Fellow, Center for Legal and
Judicial Studies and Douglas and
Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies
01February2011 1:09amEST
GCIS CYBER-SECURITY UPDATE:
Abstract: In the age of the Internet, which now determines daily life for Americans, many threats to the U.S. now exist in the cyber domain. Cybersecurity is a near-constant theme in Washington, as well as for private companies around the country. Congress and government agencies are clamoring to develop policies and strategies to protect national security and commercial interests. Internet attacks are already a standard feature of modern life, and the threats and their implications—from hacking into company sites to steal credit card numbers to hacking into government computers for espionage—are growing fast. Cybersecurity must be addressed—the right way. This Heritage Foundation paper outlines the basic facts of the Internet—and the policy principles to which they lead.
REPORT OVERVIEW:
TALKING POINTS
- No good data exist on how many cyber intrusions occur annually. The number is so great that in 2004 the U.S. government stopped reporting the number of known intrusions, which in 2003 exceeded 100,000.
- With the current Internet architecture, it is nearly impossible to identify the source of an intrusion. The anonymous nature of the Internet must be acknowledged.
- Policymakers must deal with the world as it is, not as they wish it were. Any legislation must deal with the Internet as it is today, not as the U.S. hopes it will be in the future.
- Cybersecurity is of equal importance to governments and private businesses, so true public–private partnerships must be encouraged, perhaps through a Cybersecurity Assurance Corporation (CAC).
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Since cybersecurity is a global concern, the U.S. must engage with friends and allies.
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