White House urged to articulate new standard for vital cybersecurity

The White House should vow to prevent cyber risks from undermining the U.S. government's decisions and actions on fundamental national security policy, according to an independent study by a key administration adviser.

"The United States cannot allow insecurity of our cyber systems to reach a point where weaknesses in those systems would likely render the United States unwilling to make a decision or unable to act on a decision fundamental to our national security," writes Richard Danzig, who served as Navy secretary under former President Clinton and now advises the Obama administration on policy for intelligence, defense and homeland security.

Danzig proposes the standard for what must be protected in cyberspace in a new report, "Living With Cyber Insecurity: Reducing the National Security Risks of America's Cyber Dependencies," which will be released today by the Center for a New American Security. The report urges officials to disclose more information on catastrophic cyber risks to Congress and the public and to elevate the role of the White House's cybersecurity coordinator, among other recommendations.

The study was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, but it lays out Danzig's own views and not an official agency position, he told Inside Cybersecurity in an interview. Danzig has been exposed to cybersecurity issues in different contexts. He is the only adviser serving concurrently on the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, the Defense Policy Board and the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Read the full article at Inside Cybersecurity.