June 2009 Archives

John Mellencamp sang about the walls tumbling down and this week's press release by the U.S. Army telling bases to stop blocking Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr Army Allows Access To Social Media Websites should be proof enough for anyone.  Following the US Navy US Navy Web 2.0: Utilizing New Web Tools and the US Air Force's New Media and the Air Force lead, it appears that the US military has realized the value of social media not only as a tool for boosting morale but also "to facilitate the dissemination of strategic, unclassified information." 

Wow.  Who would have ever thought that the stodgy old military would get on board with something so...hip and revolutionary?  What's next, Elvis is really alive and Robert Plant is singing country music (thanks Mike)?  Actually, I'm not all that surprised.  The military has always been out in front with technology, it's just the "non-traditional" stuff like allowing Sailors, Airmen, Soldiers, and Marines to communicate in informal channels using the evolutionary brilliance of user generated content that breaks tradition.  Should we be scared?  I don't think so.  Web 2.0 technologies provide a different means of communicating and distributing information but the risks have always be there, they're just a little more "out there" now.

One thing the military is great at is training and I think they'll be very proactive in making sure members of the military understand their responsibilities when Tweeting, blogging, and posting up on Facebook.  The challenge now will be to instill discipline in communications to everyone, not just those with a security clearance.

While the military is the latest non-traditional organization to publicly endorse social media, throughout government it's become business de jour and it's all about transparency. President Obama's (our) new federal CIO Vivek Kundra built his professional reputation on breaking out of the traditional IT mold and using new technologies to share information with his constituents.  In California, Governor Schwarzenegger has appointed a "New Media Director" to broaden and improve the state's way of communicating with the public.  Across the country, states and local governments are rushing to give the public more of what they want...information, and Web 2.0 technologies are how they are doing it.

Anyone who thinks social media is just a fad isn't paying attention.  It's a trend and it would behoove those of us in the security business to jump on the train and start thinking of solutions to the existing security issues and the new ones that are coming.  If security becomes the party pooper (thanks Dan) on implementation of social media in our organizations, it will be disastrous for our profession.  The horse has already left the barn, we just need to make sure the saddle's tight.  What do you think?

Last Friday, President Obama followed up on a promise he made last July during a speech at Purdue University when, as then-candidate Obama, he said "As President, I'll make cybersecurity the top priority that it should be in the 21st century. I'll declare our cyber-infrastructure a strategic asset, and appoint a National Cyber Advisor who will report directly to me."  In a speech at the White House on Friday morning, President Obama declared that 21^st century challenges can't be met without a digital infrastructure and said that, "the world of cyberspace is a world we depend on every day."  I was encouraged to hear him say that the security of our nation's infrastructure is a matter of America's economic competitiveness.

The President then went on to outline the results of the 60-day review of cybersecurity in the federal government" that Melissa Hathaway and her team completed in mid-April.  The resulting document, titled the Cyberspace Policy Review, is 76 pages of how the federal government is going to take a leadership role in "anchoring and elevating leadership for cybersecurity-related policies at the White House."

While he didn't name the "Cyber Czar" during the press conference, it is the number one item in the "Near-Term Action Plan" of the Cyberspace Policy Review and importantly, the document calls for the White House to lead the way forward.  How's that for leading with your chin?  I also think it was incredibly telling that the President plans to include staff to address privacy and civil liberties.  In fact, he specifically called out that the plan would not include monitoring private sector networks.

What does it mean?  From my view in the cheap seats, I'm ecstatic just to see security getting such high-level visibility.  We've been anticipating the president's actions for a while now and from my perspective, it's very good news to see him follow through.  

I plan to spend some time analyzing the Cyberspace Policy Review document and provide my perspective on it in a few days.  If you've already read and digested it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.