chertoff

After six years, Homeland Security still without 'cybercrisis' plan

When the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was created, it was supposed to find a way to respond to serious "cybercrises." "The department will gather and focus all our efforts to face the challenge of cyberterrorism," President Bush said when signing the legislation in November 2002.

More than six years later, and after spending more than $400 million on cybersecurity, DHS still has not accomplished that stated goal. "We need to have a plan tailored for a cybercrisis," DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Thursday.

Chertoff told a conference in Washington, D.C., … Read more

DHS five years later: So, where's the beef, guys?

President Bush celebrated the five-year anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday. In conjunction with the event, DHS dutifully released a fact sheet marking the department's priorities and progress since the inception.

Here's the part relating to IT:

"Increasing Cyber Security: DHS established the Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to provide a 24-hour watch, warning, and response operations center, which in 2007 issued over 200 actionable alerts on cyber security vulnerabilities or incidents. US-CERT developed the EINSTEIN intrusion detection program, which collects, analyzes, and shares computer security information across the federal civilian government. EINSTEIN is … Read more

Homeland Security proposes delayed Real ID rollout

Update 1:03 p.m. PST: This story was updated to add reactions from Congress and additional information about the privacy and security aspects of the Real ID rules.

WASHINGTON--If the Bush administration gets its way, all Americans will be required to present Real ID-compliant identification documents--or risk facing "inconveniences" at airports and federal buildings--by 2017.

In a matter-of-fact outline of the final rules governing the controversial program, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Friday vowed to counteract the naysayers and defend what he called a "more secure form of identification that will … Read more

Homeland Security to press ahead with Real ID

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday plans to take the next step in getting its controversial Real ID plan off the ground, despite opposition from numerous states and privacy groups.

At a midday press conference in Washington, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is scheduled to take the wraps off final regulations for the electronic identification card mandate and to make another pitch for the scheme's perceived importance in keeping Americans safe from terrorist threats.

The new rules, which are a few months behind schedule, are supposed to build on a draft version released last March for … Read more

Feds still love Real ID despite growing opposition

Editors note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff offered states a new deadline of February 2008; this deadline had actually been announced earlier.

WASHINGTON--A controversial plan for national identification cards known as Real ID drew another ringing endorsement from top Bush administration officials on Monday, even as senators continued to question the law's privacy implications and cost.

Cheerleading for the mandate was led by the retiring Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), who called a nationalized ID card a top priority. He asked the four Bush administration officials present to divulge whether they … Read more

Real ID will 'strengthen' Americans' privacy, Chertoff says

WASHINGTON--In another attempt to head off privacy advocates' attacks on the Bush administration's Real ID plans, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the national-identification scheme will actually "strengthen" personal privacy by providing added protection against identity theft.

In written testimony Chertoff submitted (PDF) on Wednesday to the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, he made another pitch for his department's requirements, which generally say that starting on May 11, 2008, Americans will need a federally approved, "machine readable" ID card to travel on an airplane, open a bank account, collect Social Security … Read more

DHS chief: Cybersecurity efforts are 'classified'

WASHINGTON--Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday largely dodged questions from a congressional committee about the department's cybersecurity operations, including whether its computers have ever faced attacks from Chinese hackers.

During wide-ranging testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee here, Chertoff devoted only a few sentences to his department's charge of protecting the nation's computer systems from attack. He claimed he couldn't get into many of the details because of their "classified" nature.

"I can assure you we are working with other elements of the federal government and giving … Read more