Public Private Partnership Confronts Cybersecurity

Experts agree that global dependence on the Internet makes it a prime target for criminal hackers seeking to penetrate networks and otherwise victimize large organizations. Les Rose, president of information security firm L3’s national security solutions group, describes an evolution that’s taken place over the past several years that has elevated the Internet to the most attractive target for cybercriminals. Organizations used to think of their wide area networks, local area networks and the Internet as separate entities, Rose explained to Government Technology. But the breadth of information available on the Internet, and its primary role in commerce, business and government, has made the Internet, in essence, the new wide area network. The constantly changing nature of online threats, Rose said, makes a traditional approach to product development, which can take as long as five years, ineffective. “Identifying the requirements, determining how you’re going to get the solution, having it developed, and then having it delivered – that timeline is really not a feasible way to deal with this threat,” he said.