New Info Sec Controls to Strengthen Federal Cybersecurity Standards

A number of government security experts are sounding off about the new information security controls currently being developed , saying those controls will significantly improve federal cybersecurity standards.

In an article on the Government Computer News website, Wyatt Kash says the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Defense Department and the intelligence community have co-developed a new catalog of information and security controls. Coupled with new information security legislation, many experts believe the controls will boost cybersecurity.

“This is a great year for standards,” Ron Ross, senior computer scientist and information security researcher for NIST, said at a government symposium in Washington. Kash says Ross highlighted two NIST initiatives at the event.

One of those, NIST Special Publication 800-53, focuses on information security controls, while the other, NIST Special Publication 800-39, focuses on managing security risks. — one focused on information security controls, and another on managing security risks —as some of the efforts he predicted would have a big impact on federal information security this year.

Meanwhile, Erik Hopkins, a professional staff member working on the Senate Committee Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told Kash that a Senate bill introduced in April could promote further security improvements.

“The bill, the 2009 U.S. Information and Communications Enhancement Act, would ask agencies to actively monitor and fix security gaps in computer systems, and make agency officials more accountable for IT security matters,” Kash says.

To read the full article, click here: http://gcn.com/articles/2009/06/17/new-info-security-controls-to-strengthen-fed-cybersecurity.aspx