Tuesday, April 21, 2009

NSA Not Interested In Running U.S. Cybersecurity

Via DarkReading.com -

It turns out the National Security Agency (NSA) doesn't want to be in charge of the U.S.'s cybersecurity operations after all: NSA's director told attendees here today that the agency sees itself as part of a team that includes the Department of Homeland Security and the security industry.

Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, who is also chief of the Central Security Service, said he wanted to set the record straight that it won't be just the NSA or DHS that will oversee the nation's cybersecurity efforts. Speculation and concerns about privacy had been running high during the past few weeks amid reports that the NSA was lobbying to head cybersecurity. Adding fuel to that fire: In February Dennis Blair, director of National Intelligence, told a House intelligence committee that the NSA should have a wider role in cybersecurity.

"We don't want to run cybersecurity for the U.S. government. That's a big job," Alexander said in his keynote address at the RSA Conference. "We need to have a partnership with others. DHS has a big role in it.

"It's one network, and we all have to work together," including the security industry, he added. "We'll provide the technical support they can lean on."

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