SCIENCE

Nortel hosted a discussion on Capitol Hill for policymakers and industry representatives focusing on the need to prepare and respond more effectively to cybersecurity threats. At the event, Bill Owens, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Nortel, discussed how industry trends such as increased use of wireless access and new multimedia devices create new security challenges. He urged the United States to change its approach to cybersecurity, adopting a more alert and engaged posture. "It's time to pay attention," Owens said. "Every bit of our critical infrastructure must be resilient from the ground up. We need to be prepared with appropriate precautions for cybersecurity to protect and insulate ourselves from incidents that could impact national safety and productivity." In addition to Owens' remarks, today's discussion on "Recent Developments in Cybersecurity Technology and Policy" also featured Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), chairman, Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee; Andy Purdy, acting director, National Cybersecurity Division, Department of Homeland Security; and Dave McCurdy, president, Electronic Industries Alliance. Panelists debated ways to make critical infrastructure more secure and the roles that both government and industry must play. "Individual Americans must do their part, but it is a shared responsibility," Purdy said. "We, as consumers, have to demand that those who develop hardware and software do their part to lessen the vulnerability of the end user." Lungren called on the Department of Homeland Security to analyze and develop a planned response. "We have to enhance our national cyber warning system and establish standard definitions and thresholds to identify cyber-based threats," he said. "This requires a long-term commitment from the Department of Homeland Security. They must aggressively move to improve the public and private sectors' coordinated response to cybersecurity threats." McCurdy echoed this point. "It is incumbent upon us to do what we can to ensure that disasters such as 9-11 and Katrina do not cripple our infrastructure," he said. "The government must share with the private sector what they are doing to make sure that the infrastructure is viable."