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MS. GORELICK: Mr. President, distinguished guests. Ten
years ago I would not have put cyber terrorism at the top of the
threats to our national security. But the landscape has changed.
Given how well-armed we are, as Josh said, as a nation, but how
reliant we are on computers in our everyday business and private
lives, our nation's cyber systems become a tremendous target.

Today a small group of technically sophisticated people
with nothing more than off-the-shelf computer equipment can get into,
can disrupt the computers and the Internet connections on which our
finance, telecommunications, power, water systems, emergency service
systems all depend.

Is this speculation? No, it is not. In exercise
eligible receiver, our Defense Department conducted a war game using
this technique and came to just that conclusion. And terrorists,
organized crime, drug cartels, as well as nation states are either
creating cybertech capabilities or are talking about using them. I
believe that cyberspace is the next battlefield for this nation.

Now, cyber terrorism may be a new issue to many
Americans, but it's not new to me and it's not new to this
administration. In 1995, our Attorney General asked me to chair a
critical infrastructure working group that brought together Justice
and Defense and the intelligence community to begin to address what
we saw as a new and emerging threat. The President then appointed a
commission on critical infrastructure protection whose advisory board
I co-chaired.

In response to his commission's work, last year the
President signed two directives -- to strengthen U.S. readiness to
meet unconventional threats to our nation, and to protect our
critical infrastructures. He appointed a national coordinator, Dick
Clarke, to review and handle and coordinate security infrastructure
protection and counterterrorism, and a national plan is under
development to ensure that America can defend itself in cyberspace.

Now, as part of that national plan I hope that we can
see action in a number of areas, three of which I see as particularly
pressing. The first, both the public and private sectors need to be
aware of the problem and the security measures that can be taken to
address it. I'd like to see the private sector work with the federal
government to make sure that we have enough people who are trained in
computer security, which we do not now have.

Second, we need to encourage ways for the government and
the private sector to share information on cyber intrusions and on
new techniques for preventing those intrusions, and responding to
them. A government-chartered, privately-run center could do this,
and also help develop standards for use in both industry and
government. This will complement the government's obligation to
ensure that we have the ability to respond as a nation to any attack.

Third, the companies that manage and assess risk for
private sector clients, like insurance companies and accounting
firms, need to focus on the risk that American businesses face from
cyber attacks. I'd like to see the widespread use of cyber security
best practices and standards as a tool of good business
management for every business.

I want to thank the President for his appreciation of
the threat and his commitment of resources to address it. And I will
urge the business community to respond in kind. This President has
always been sensitive to the promise of the Information Age, what it
can mean to students, what it can mean to families, to a world drawn
closer in many ways by the speed of communication. At the same time,
he knows that that promise comes with a price, and the price is
vigilance, because so much is at stake.

We're grateful for his leadership both in promoting the
cyber world and in protecting it.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and my personal
privilege to present to you the President of the United States.
(Applause.)

END

Where do you suppose Jamie Gorelick learned all about "cyber terrorism"? LOL

http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/news99/990122-wh2.htm