Leaders from Washington and Silicon Valley have gathered in Palo Alto this morning to discuss how they can come together to strengthen cybersecurity, a concern that is top of mind for both, though they sometimes disagree about the best approach.
The eagerly anticipated conference kicked off on a cheery note, with visitors from the capital gushing about the characteristically sunny weather on Stanford University s verdant campus. But the attendees quickly got down to business, their conversations charged by President Barack Obama s announcement of an executive order encouraging private companies to share information about threats with the government and each other. Speaking before a packed auditorium of valley executives, politicos and journalists, Lisa Monaco, Obama s homeland security advisor, framed the challenge in blunt terms, suggesting that the valley cannot remain a fount of growth without concerted improvements in cybersecurity.
We are at a transformational moment in the evolution of the cyber threat, she said. The actions we take today, or those that we fail to take, will determine whether cyber space remains a great realm of international opportunity… or whether it becomes, frankly, a strategic vulnerability.
Each morning, Monaco is the bearer of bad news in the White House, briefing Obama on the most significant threats facing the nation, ranging from terrorism to infectious diseases, she said. More and more of the time is spent discussing cyber threats, Monaco noted, with data breaches up five-fold since 2009. She said she fears devastating attacks like the one that hit Sony Pictures Entertainment late last year could become the norm.
Cyber threats are increasing in their frequency, in their scale in their sophistication and in the severity of their impact, she said. Each hour we know that state and non-state actors… are probing our networks.
Monaco argued that cyber attacks demand the same coordinated approach that the U.S. government has taken to fighting terrorism, working across agencies to harness all resources. Public-private partnerships will also be critical, she said.
We ve got to be in lockstep, she said.
Jeff Zients of the National Economic Council said cybersecurity must be framed not as a chore of risk management but a competitive advantage. The deluge of high-profile hacks threatens to undermine consumers faith in the digital economy, he said.
We need to continue to work together across the public and privae sector to give consumers confidence that American cybersecurity is the best in the world, he said.
Check back with Silicon Beat for more updates as Silicon Valley leaders take the stage.
Above: President Barack Obama has come to the Bay Area to discuss cybersecurity with technology leaders (AP).
