Taking tech security more seriously

December 30, 2005

The bad news is 2005 was an awful year for tech security. The worse news is the federal government could invest more in cybersecurity, but doesn’t appear interested.

2005 saw the most computer security breaches ever, subjecting millions of Americans to potential identity fraud, according to a report published Thursday.

Over 130 major intrusions exposed more than 55 million Americans to the growing variety of fraud as personal data like Social Security and credit card numbers were left unprotected, according to USA Today.

The Treasury Department says that cyber crime has now outgrown illegal drug sales in annual proceeds, netting an estimated $105 billion in 2004, the report said.

At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security’s 2005 research budget for cybersecurity programs was cut 7% to $16 million.

After the ChoicePoint debacle, the recent breakdown in tech security at Ford, and the fact that terrorists are coordinating operations online, you’d think cybersecurity research would get a little more than $16 million — and wouldn’t face budget cuts right now.

That, coupled by the fact that the Bush administration has gone through four cybersecurity chiefs in three years, hardly inspires confidence in the system.

Tech security is the number one issue affecting the wired economy and everyone who uses the internet, like actual people. Instead of doing something wothwhile in the fight for tech security, the justice department chooses to fight social engineering battles on legal issues it finds distasteful, like privacy, choice, and porn. So much for the “conservatives” (those formerly known as conservatives) keeping government out of peoples lives. When they say that, it means keeping the govt out of issues they don’t care about that would benefit actual people, like corporate corruption and tech security.

  • So I guess that national cyber-security is worth the same as one star outfielder or quarterback. Sad.

  • Of course they don’t want to put money into cybersecurity. Why would they want to enable GREATER security amongst people they’re trying harder and harder to spy on? It would defeat their purposes. After all, the NSA is the one that got caught this week enabling “persistent cookies” on visitors’ PCs. And the cookies would last until the year 2035!

    Of course, they want everyone to believe that it was just an innocent mistake. Yeah, right. Our nation’s most secretive and technologically-advanced spy organization just accidentally overlooked the fact that it could track the web movements of anyone who visited the NSA web site for the next 30 years.

    This administration is spending $100 million a year over the next five years on family counseling (Santorum’s bill). They’re spending tens of millions a year on abstinence programs. But in comparison, they’re spending virtual peanuts on stuff that really matters, such as cybersecurity and alternative energy sources. It’s outrageous!

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