Cybersecurity Should Reach Across Rather Than Down

Government needs to "think flat' and create a cybersecurity architecture that emphasizes a peering structure rather than a vertical architecture. Robert J. Giesler, vice president and corporate executive agent for cyber programs, SAIC, expanded on that statement while moderating an industry panel on cybersecurity at TechNet Asia Pacific 2009, being held in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 2-5. He stated that cyber operations centers should have a peer relationship rather than a hierarchical one. The hierarchical approach generates layers of decision making and latency. Giesler added that decision processes between public and private sectors can be hindered by regulation instead of facilitated by it. For example, since 2002, $40 billion has been spent on FISMA compliance-and that's just to tell us how badly we're doing, he stated. He asked, if government is going to regulate cyber security, are we just buying into more bureaucracy?