From: National Defense
By Sandra I. Erwin
At a White House ceremony, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson touted the release of the administration’s cyber security blueprint as a much needed guide for protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure.
The highly anticipated “framework” for cyber security comes a year after the president issued an executive order directing the National Institutes of Standards and Technology to produce voluntary guidelines for protecting critical information networks. The president put out the executive order after cyber security legislation stalled in the Senate and saw no prospect of new legislation in the near term.
The blueprint unveiled Feb. 12 draws from industry “best practices” and generally has been described by experts as a useful first step that, over time, could help develop stronger protections against cyber attacks and boost cooperation between the government and the private sector.
“The cyber security framework is a good start at providing all organizations with information on practices that should improve overall cyber hygiene,” Sedar LaBarre, of Booz Allen Hamilton, wrote in a blog post.
Industry experts said it is remarkable that NIST was able to produce this blueprint in just one year, with input from thousands of companies and universities.
The framework has spurred a heated debate in Washington about the need for cyber security regulations and policies at a time of growing threats such as malware, hackers and spies. Critics have questioned the value of voluntary guidelines and the absence of incentives for companies to adopt the framework. Policy makers at the White House and on Capitol Hill still disagree on whether cyber security should be mandated by the federal government or be treated as a private sector initiative.
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