IT Security is National Security -- But You're Not Alone

Network World, By Stephen Lawson

Managing the danger of cyberattacks has to involve all parts of an enterprise, speakers tell a Kaspersky conference.

National security may be at stake as private businesses try to manage a growing number of cyberthreats, but IT professionals shouldn't have to bear that burden alone.

That was one of the messages from a conference earlier this week where threat experts from Kaspersky Lab shared the stage with corporate security chiefs and the former U.S. secretary of homeland security. There were also a few tips for facing up to the problem.

"If the private sector goes down, and critical infrastructure, [then] more often than not ... you have national security at risk as well," said Tom Ridge, who led the new Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Because government relies so much on critical infrastructure such as power grids, communications networks and transportation, and because of the way malware spreads, the line between attacks against states and attacks against companies is blurry. Read more.