[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44216-44223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18507]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Office of the Secretary

National Institute of Standards and Technology

International Trade Administration

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

[Docket No.: 100721305-0305-01]


Cybersecurity, Innovation and the Internet Economy

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce; National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce; 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce; and 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of inquiry.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce's Internet Policy Task Force is 
conducting a comprehensive review of the nexus between cybersecurity 
challenges in the commercial sector and innovation in the Internet 
economy. The Department seeks comments from all stakeholders, including 
the commercial, academic and civil society sectors, on measures to 
improve cybersecurity while sustaining innovation. Preserving 
innovation, as well as private sector and consumer confidence in the 
security of the Internet economy, are important for promoting economic 
prosperity and social well-being overall. In particular, the Department 
seeks to develop an up-to-date understanding of the current public 
policy and operational challenges affecting cybersecurity, as those 
challenges may shape the future direction of the Internet and its 
commercial use, both domestically and globally. After analyzing 
comments on this Notice, the Department intends to issue a report that 
will contribute to the Administration's domestic and international 
policies and activities in advancing both cybersecurity and the 
Internet economy.

DATES: Comments are due on or before September 13, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by mail to Diane 
Honeycutt, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau 
Drive, Stop 8930, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Submissions may be in any of 
the following formats: HTML, ASCII, Word, rtf, or pdf. Online 
submissions in electronic form may be sent to [email protected]. 
Paper submissions should include a three and one-half inch computer 
diskette or compact disc (CD). Diskettes or CDs should be labeled with 
the name and organizational affiliation of the filer and the name of 
the word processing program used to create the document. Comments will 
be posted at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/internetpolicytaskforce and http://csrc.nist.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this Notice 
contact: Jon Boyens, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 2806, 
Washington, DC 20230, telephone (202) 482-0573, e-mail 
[email protected]; or Alfred Lee, National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 4725, Washington, DC 20230, telephone 
(202) 482-1880, e-mail [email protected]. Please direct media inquires 
to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Office of 
Public and Business Affairs at (301) 975-6478.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Internet has become vitally important to 
U.S. innovation, prosperity, education, civic activity and cultural 
life as well as aspects of our national security. A top priority of the 
Department of Commerce is to ensure that the Internet remains an open 
and trusted infrastructure, both for commercial entities and 
individuals. In pursuit of this priority, the Department has created an 
Internet Policy Task Force whose mission is to identify leading policy 
challenges and to recommend possible solutions. The Task Force 
leverages expertise across many bureaus at the Department, including 
those responsible for cybersecurity standards and best practices, 
information and communications policy, international trade, 
intellectual property, business advocacy and export control. This 
Notice of Inquiry is one in a series of inquiries from the Task Force. 
Other reviews examine information privacy, global free flow of 
information on the Internet, and online copyright protection issues. 
The Task Force may explore additional areas in the future.
    The Task Force's cybersecurity work aims to identify public 
policies and private-sector norms that can: (1) Promote conduct by 
firms and consumers that collectively will sustain growth in the 
Internet economy and improve the level of security of the 
infrastructure and online environment that support it; (2) enhance 
individual and collaborative efforts by those actors who are in the 
best position to assist firms and their customers in addressing 
cybersecurity challenges; (3) improve the ability of firms and 
consumers to keep pace with ever-evolving cybersecurity risks; and (4) 
promote individual privacy and civil liberties. Public policies and 
private-sector practices that promote innovation and enhance 
cybersecurity will help assure that the Internet remains fertile ground 
for an expanding range of beneficial commercial and consumer activity.
    Internet Growth and Evolving Cybersecurity Challenges: The Internet 
allows users to gather, store, process, and transfer vast amounts of 
data, including proprietary and sensitive business, transactional, and 
personal data. At the same time that businesses and consumers rely more 
and more on such capabilities, cybersecurity risks continue to plague 
the Internet economy, and it seems highly unlikely that all risks will 
ever be completely eliminated.

[[Page 44217]]

    Sources of cybersecurity risks include individual criminals, 
organized crime, terrorists, and nation-states. Cyber intrusions and 
attacks are mounted against commercial and individual users, as well as 
against government, military, and critical infrastructure networks 
(e.g., energy, water, sewage, transportation, banking, and financial 
networks). These intrusions and attacks often seek to steal, 
manipulate, destroy, or deny access to sensitive data and sometimes 
attempt to disable or disrupt individual systems.\1\ Media outlets 
regularly report on the activities of those who disseminate viruses, 
spyware, and other malware, as well as those who spoof e-mail 
addresses, distribute spam, phish for sensitive personal information, 
and create botnets.\2\ Cyber threats can originate from anywhere in the 
world. They not only target computers, but also mobile phones and other 
devices connected to the Internet.
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    \1\ See, e.g., Cyberspace Policy Review: Assuring a Trusted and 
Resilient Information and Communications Infrastructure, May 29, 
2009, at 1, http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Cyberspace_Policy_Review_final.pdf (Cyberspace Policy Review), citing 
Director of National Intelligence, Annual Threat Assessment of the 
Intelligence Community for the Armed Services Committee, Statement 
for the Record, March 10, 2009, at 39.
    \2\ See, e.g., id. at 2 (listing several examples of media 
reported incidents); see also David S. Wall, Cybercrime, Media and 
Insecurity: The Shaping of Public Perceptions of Cybercrime, 22 
International Review of Law, Computers and Technology 45 (2008). A 
botnet, short for robot network, is an aggregation of compromised 
computers that are taken over via network connections without the 
knowledge or consent of their owners. Michigan Information Sharing 
and Analysis Center, Monthly Cyber Security Tips Newsletter 
(September 2007), http://www.michigan.gov/documents/cybersecurity/CSNewsletter_September2007_207450_7.pdf.
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    Cybersecurity risks seem to evolve as rapidly as the Internet 
expands, and those risks are becoming increasingly global in nature. 
Keeping pace with cybersecurity risks requires all users, even the most 
sophisticated users, to be aware of the threats and improve upon their 
security practices on an ongoing basis. Creating incentives to motivate 
all parties in the Internet economy to make appropriate security 
investments in response to risks they face requires a careful balance 
of technical and public policy measures.
    The constantly evolving nature of the threats and vulnerabilities 
not only affects individual firms and their customers, but collectively 
the threats pose a persistent economic and national security challenge. 
Computing devices are highly and increasingly interconnected, meaning 
that security deficiencies in a limited number of systems can be 
exploited to launch cyber intrusions or attacks on other systems. Put 
another way, poor cyber ``hygiene'' on one Internet-connected computer 
negatively impacts other connected computers.
    Given the breadth and importance of this challenge, government and 
private sector actors have for many years been pursuing a range of 
mitigation strategies. Currently at the Federal level, the White 
House's Cybersecurity Coordinator is responsible for setting a national 
agenda and for coordinating Executive Branch cybersecurity activities. 
Specific Federal activities in this area include research and training, 
threat reporting and analysis, information collection and 
dissemination, consumer awareness, and policy development. In addition, 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is 
responsible for overseeing Federal agency information security policies 
and practices under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 
2002.
    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is an especially 
important Federal actor that serves as a focal point for the security 
of cyberspace. It provides consolidated intrusion detection, incident 
analysis and cyber response capabilities to protect Federal agencies' 
external access points, including access to the Internet. While the 
Department of Defense (DOD) defends military and national security 
systems, DHS has the lead in securing federal civilian systems. DHS 
also works with public and private stakeholders to protect critical 
infrastructure and key resources (CIKR).\3\ A number of entities within 
the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, as well as the United States Secret Service in DHS, 
track and prosecute cyber crimes. The National Science and Technology 
Council and its Committee on Technology serve as the coordinating 
organization over the Networking and Information Technology Research 
and Development (NITRD) program, which is the primary mechanism by 
which the U.S. Government coordinates its unclassified networking and 
IT research and development investments, including cybersecurity 
research and development.\4\
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    \3\ DHS oversees critical infrastructure protection, operates 
the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), 
oversees implementation of the Trusted Internet Connection 
initiative, and takes other actions to help secure both the federal 
civilian government systems and the private sector. DHS exercises 
primary responsibility within the executive branch for the 
operational aspects of Federal agency cybersecurity with respect to 
the Federal information systems that fall within the Federal 
Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA). These 
responsibilities include overseeing the government-wide and agency-
specific implementation of and reporting on cybersecurity policies 
and guidance; overseeing and assisting government-wide and agency-
specific efforts to provide adequate, risk-based and cost-effective 
cybersecurity. Under FISMA, the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) oversees federal agency information security 
policies and practices, and OMB has directed all departments and 
agencies to coordinate and cooperate with DHS as necessary to carry 
out its FISMA responsibilities. OMB Memorandum M-10-28 Clarifying 
Cybersecurity Responsibilities and Activities of the Executive 
Office of the President and the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS), http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-28.pdf.
    \4\ In addition, the Federal Communications Commission, an 
independent regulatory agency, is considering launching a voluntary 
certification program to encourage communications service providers 
to implement cybersecurity best practices. See http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-63A1.pdf.
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    The Department of Commerce has programs that complement and support 
these and other federal efforts. For example, the Department's National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) \5\ develops standards and 
guides for securing non-national security Federal information systems. 
It defines minimum security requirements for federally held information 
and for information systems. NIST is also a primary contributor and 
member of the NITRD program, leading research and development in 
computer forensics tool testing, seamless mobility, trustworthy 
information systems, information security automation, combinatorial 
testing, next generation access control, and Internet infrastructure 
protection (with DHS funding). NIST also is responsible for the 
National Software Reference Library, National Vulnerability Database, 
and Security Content Automation Protocol. NIST identifies methods and 
metrics for assessing the effectiveness of security requirements; 
evaluates private sector security policies for potential federal agency 
use; and provides general cybersecurity technical support and 
assistance to the private sector and federal agencies. Moreover, over 
the

[[Page 44218]]

past two decades, the Department's National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration (NTIA), in its role as principal adviser to 
the President on telecommunications and information policies, has 
worked closely with other parts of government on broadband deployment, 
Internet policy development, securing the Internet namespace, and other 
issues. As an advocate for our nation's businesses, NTIA has played an 
instrumental role in developing policies that have helped commerce over 
the Internet flourish.\6\
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    \5\ The 1965 Brooks Act gave the National Bureau of Standards 
(now NIST) responsibilities for federal information technology 
standards. Public Law 89-306 (Oct. 30, 1965). The Computer Security 
Act of 1987 reaffirmed the responsibilities of NIST for the security 
of unclassified, non-military government computer systems. Public 
Law. 100-235 (Jan. 8, 1988). Under the law, the role of the National 
Security Agency (NSA) was limited in the civilian security realm to 
providing technical assistance. The 2002 Cyber Security Research and 
Development Act authorized funding to NIST for computer and network 
security research and established status reporting requirements. 
Public Law 107-305 (Nov. 27, 2002). The 2002 Federal Information 
Security Management Act provided for development and maintenance by 
NIST of minimum controls required to protect federal information and 
information systems. Title III of Public Law 107-347 (Dec. 17, 
2002).
    \6\ See 47 U.S.C. 902 (b)(2)(D) (providing that NTIA has ``[t]he 
authority to serve as the President's principal adviser on 
telecommunications policies pertaining to the Nation's economic and 
technological advancement and to the regulation of the 
telecommunications industry''); see also Federal Communications 
Commission, Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan, at 55 
(2010), http://download.broadband.gov/plan/national-broadband-plan.pdf. In 1993, the White House formed the Information 
Infrastructure Task Force (White House Task Force), chaired by the 
Secretary of Commerce, to develop telecommunications and information 
policies to promote the development of the Internet. In 1997, the 
White House Clinton Administration published A Framework for Global 
Electronic Commerce. This was the work of an interagency working 
group of high level representatives of several cabinet agencies, 
including the Departments of Treasury, State, Justice and Commerce, 
as well as the Executive Office of the President, including the 
Council of Economic Advisors, the National Security Council, the 
Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of the Vice 
President, and the U.S. Trade Representative. Independent 
commissions including the Federal Communications Commission and the 
Federal Trade Commission also contributed to the working group. In 
several instances, the Framework notes NTIA's collaborative efforts, 
in conjunction with other federal agencies, such as the State 
Department, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Trade Representative, to 
explore opportunities for international cooperation to protect 
consumers and to prosecute false, deceptive, and fraudulent 
commercial practices in cyberspace. President William J. Clinton and 
Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., A Framework for Global Electronic 
Commerce (1997) (pagination not available), http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/Commerce/; see also Memorandum on 
Electronic Commerce, 33 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc 1006 (July 1, 1997).
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    Through its Internet Policy Task Force, the Department intends to 
recommend public policies and private-sector norms that can markedly 
improve the overall cybersecurity posture of private sector 
infrastructure operators, software and service providers, and users 
outside the critical infrastructure and key resources realm and of 
their customers.
    Cybersecurity and Commerce: Due to the Department's over-arching 
responsibility to advance the nation's commercial interests, the Task 
Force is focused on the cybersecurity challenges facing businesses and 
consumers that use the Internet.
    The nation's e-commerce interests are significant. Growth in online 
sales and expanding use of the Internet are creating new jobs and 
contributing directly to our economic recovery. Businesses of all sizes 
increasingly use the Internet to order and track inventory, sell 
products and services, store financial and other proprietary 
information, and interact with their customers. These shifts in 
business practices and other measures have led to a greatly increased 
average growth in productivity over the last fifteen years.\7\ Over the 
long term, such growth benefits our global competitiveness.\8\
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    \7\ Executive Office of the President of the United States, 
Economic Report of the President (Feb. 2010), available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cea/economic-report-of-the-president.
    \8\ The Nation relies increasingly on the Internet not only as a 
platform for commercial activities, but also as a vehicle for 
innovation, national competitiveness, and a tool for efficiency, 
transparency and accountability in government.
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    Taking into account both business-to-consumer and business-to-
business transactions, online commerce in 2007 accounted for more than 
$3 trillion in revenue for U.S. companies.\9\ In the business-to-
consumer e-commerce space, the United States economy enjoyed an 
increase in revenue of more than 500 percent between 1999 and 2007.\10\ 
Even during the recent economic downturn, the economic benefits 
provided by the Internet economy increased. In 2009, online retail 
sales grew 2.0 percent to reach $134.9 billion,\11\ while total retail 
sales fell 7 percent in that same year. Also in 2009, U.S. mobile 
commerce sales grew more than 200 percent compared to the previous 
year, reaching $1.2 billion.\12\ Analysts expect this growth to 
continue in 2010, projecting $2.4 billion in mobile commerce.\13\
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    \9\ U.S. Census Bureau, E-Stats, May 28, 2009, http://www.census.gov/econ/estats/2007/2007reportfinal.pdf, at 2.
    \10\ Id. More recent data released in May 2010 show that this 
trend continued in 2008. U.S. Census Bureau, E-Stats, May 27, 2010, 
http://www.census.gov/econ/estats/2008/2008reportfinal.pdf.
    \11\ U.S. Census Bureau, ``Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales: 
4th Quarter 2008,'' Feb. 16, 2010.
    \12\ U.S. M-Commerce Sales to Hit $2.4 Billion This Year, ABI 
Research Says, Internet Retailer, Feb. 16, 2010, http://www.internetretailer.com/2010/02/16/u-s-m-commerce-sales-to-hit-2-4-billion-this-year-abi-researc.
    \13\ Id.
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    Notwithstanding this consistent, impressive growth, companies 
continue to face significant challenges in their ability to 
appropriately protect their computer systems, secure their proprietary, 
personal, and financial information, and safeguard the integrity of 
business and other transactions that they conduct over the Internet.
    Reports of significant, persistent, individual cyber intrusions 
occur on a regular basis, as do reports of widespread, untargeted cyber 
incidents. The Cyberspace Policy Review described a coordinated attack 
in 49 cities on more than 130 automated teller machines in 2008, as 
well as a single 2007 data breach at one company that resulted in more 
than 45 million compromised consumer financial accounts.\14\ While some 
cyber intrusions are highly sophisticated, some require relatively 
little skill or effort. For instance, criminals can use widely 
available, low cost ``crimeware kits'' to exploit computer systems and 
software vulnerabilities in order to launch malware against targeted 
computer systems.\15\
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    \14\ Cyberspace Policy Review at 2.
    \15\ See, e.g., Tom Zeller, Jr., Cyberthieves Silently Copy Your 
Passwords as You Type, New York Times, Feb. 27, 2006, available at 
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/27/technology/27hack.html.
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    The financial cost of cyber threats to firms and their customers 
appears to be significant. Though current fraud losses attributed to 
cybersecurity data breaches are small in comparison to total annual 
business fraud losses, they are increasing, rising from 7 percent of 
total fraud losses in 2007 to 11 percent in 2008. In 2009, the dollar 
loss from all cases of online crime referred to law enforcement in the 
United States reached $550 million, more than twice the 2008 level.\16\
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    \16\ See Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2009 Internet Crime 
Report, http://www.ic3.gov/media/annualreport/2009_IC3Report.pdf.
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    Small businesses have just as much reason to focus on cybersecurity 
as do larger enterprises yet they are less likely to have adequately 
protected themselves from their risks. According to a National 
Cybersecurity Alliance poll, 65 percent of small businesses store 
customer data online, 43 percent store financial records online, 33 
percent store credit card information online, and 22 percent have 
intellectual property and other sensitive corporate content online.\17\ 
The same poll shows that only 14 percent of these firms have anyone 
solely focused on information technology security; only 53 percent 
check their computers to ensure that anti-virus, anti-spyware, 
firewalls, and operating systems are up to date; 20 percent say that 
they use the minimum threshold of security to protect customer and 
employee data, but 42 percent believe that their customers are

[[Page 44219]]

concerned about the IT security of their business. Though many 
businesses are increasing their cybersecurity budgets, anecdotally, the 
Task Force has been told that there is a continuous requirement for IT 
managers to justify their expenditure of company resources on 
cybersecurity.
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    \17\ National Cyber Security Alliance, Symantec, and Zogby 
International; 2009 NCSA/Symantec Small Business Study, Oct. 2009, 
http://www.staysafeonline.org/files/2009SMBStudy/FullSMBStudy2009%20FINAL.pdf, at 4.
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    Given this state of affairs, the Task Force believes that public 
policies affecting cybersecurity on the Internet, as well as private 
sector norms (both good and bad), require a fresh look. The Task Force 
recognizes the valuable roles, responsibilities, and capabilities of 
the private sector in creating tools and strategies to mitigate cyber 
risks associated with the Internet. More broadly, over the past two 
decades, the nation has benefitted greatly from industry-led, Internet-
driven innovation and growth, with those benefits reflected throughout 
the entire economy. That said, the persistence of the cybersecurity 
challenges compels the Department to seek a better understanding of 
both how those challenges are affecting U.S. businesses and citizens, 
as well as useful steps that can enhance the security of e-commerce. 
Small, medium, and large businesses, and consumers, will continue to 
increase their reliance on the Internet. As that reliance grows, the 
level of cybersecurity must increase as well.
    Contribution of This NOI to the Internet Policy Task Force: 
Responses to this Notice will assist the Department's Internet Policy 
Task Force in preparing a report on cybersecurity, innovation and the 
Internet economy. The primary purposes of the report will be to 
identify and evaluate cybersecurity challenges facing commercial actors 
and consumers outside the critical infrastructure and key resources 
sectors to analyze various approaches to meet those challenges. The 
Department would also like to know how it can improve its execution of 
core cybersecurity responsibilities, including those supporting CIKR 
sectors and their customers. The Task Force's report may include 
options and recommendations for changes in public policy, as well as 
recommendations for voluntary steps that will enhance the commercial 
sector's and consumers' cybersecurity preparedness. The Task Force is 
hopeful that the dialogue launched here and the responses to this 
inquiry will contribute to Administration-wide policy positions and 
global cybersecurity strategy.

Request for Comment

    The primary focus of this inquiry, as reflected above and in the 
questions listed below, is on enhancing the cybersecurity practices of 
commercial actors, consumers, and citizens outside the CIKR sectors. 
Activities involving government systems, other critical infrastructures 
and key resources receive attention from the Department of Homeland 
Security and other agencies. As such, they are not the main subject of 
this inquiry. The questions below are intended to help frame the issues 
and should not be construed as a limitation on comments that parties 
may submit. Comments containing references, studies, research, and 
other empirical data that are not widely published should include 
copies of the referenced materials. Comments will be posted at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/internetpolicytaskforce and http://csrc.nist.gov.

1. Quantifying the Economic Impact

    Prior to releasing this NOI, the Task Force conducted listening 
sessions with a wide range of stakeholders in order to understand the 
issues that have the greatest bearing on cybersecurity preparedness and 
continued growth of the Internet economy. During those conversations, 
the Task Force heard that while cybersecurity threats continue to pose 
challenges for Internet users and services providers, it appears 
difficult to assess the macro- and microeconomic impact of 
cybersecurity incidents with current tools. It is hard to manage that 
which one cannot measure.
    Losses related to Internet fraud (e.g., payment fraud, identity 
theft, credit card fraud) are collected and reported to various 
government and private entities. However, data that describe the 
economic impact of cybersecurity incidents more fully and completely, 
either at the firm or sector level, are not readily available. Not only 
are losses difficult to quantify with today's tools, but it appears to 
be difficult to assess in economic terms the return on investments 
achieved via security measures. Measures of business and consumer 
investment in security-related activities lack a common reporting 
entity or information aggregating mechanism.
    The availability of authoritative, aggregated data on cybersecurity 
investments and losses from cyber incidents might yield a quantitative 
picture of the economic impact of cyber intrusions and attacks. Such 
data would enable industry and the government to evaluate the severity 
of cybersecurity threats and emerging trends and to make informed 
decisions about the trade-offs of different cybersecurity strategies 
and investment options.
    We seek comment on the following questions: How should a data 
gathering and analysis system (or systems) be fashioned to facilitate 
the collection of well-defined, consistent metrics to measure the 
financial impact of cybersecurity incidents and investments in 
cybersecurity protection? What would be the implementation challenges? 
Are there adequate incentives for businesses to provide information 
about security breaches, data security losses, and cybersecurity 
investments? It would be beneficial from a national perspective to have 
a greater understanding of the financial costs and benefits of 
different cybersecurity practices. Does the private sector, however, 
lack incentives to share information at the firm level? What are 
reasonable means to acquire the data necessary for greater 
understanding? At what level of granularity should data be collected 
and analyzed? What would be the appropriate entity to perform 
collection and analysis of the data? Aside from assessing the known 
costs of cyber intrusions and attacks and of cybersecurity measures, 
what other data would be helpful to better understand the question of 
whether at the firm, sector and national levels enough is being done to 
adequately protect the nation's information and communications systems? 
Can the opportunity costs associated with inadequate security be 
estimated in some way?

2. Raising Awareness

    At the highest level of abstraction, the nation has pursued for the 
past several years a two-prong strategy for dealing with cybersecurity 
issues, namely, the continual development of cyber-protection 
technology and techniques, paired with the sharing of information about 
those capabilities, about new threats and vulnerabilities, and about 
data breaches (where required by law). Based on the Task Force's 
examination to date, these strategies will remain important. The 
dynamic nature of the cyber risk environment demands continuous 
innovation in cyber-protection capability. Ongoing improvements in 
education and other forms of awareness-raising are also necessary, 
given the fact that a significant proportion of Internet economy 
participants do not take adequate advantage of readily available cyber-
protection tools.
    In response to the President's Cyberspace Policy Review, the U.S. 
Government is stepping up its investment in education and awareness-
raising. For example, NIST has assumed overall coordination 
responsibility for a new National Initiative for

[[Page 44220]]

Cybersecurity Education (NICE).\18\ NICE has four tracks, each 
delegated to particular federal agencies. The tracks include: (1) 
National Cybersecurity Awareness led by the DHS; (2) K-12 and 
university-level Cybersecurity Education led by the Department of 
Education and the White House's Office of Science and Technology 
Policy; (3) the creation of a Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Structure 
led by the Office of Personnel Management; and (4) the creation of a 
Cybersecurity Workforce Training effort led by the DOD, DHS, and the 
Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The Department also 
recognizes that across the private sector, there are many initiatives--
some nationally led, others locally led, some including public-private 
partnerships--aimed at improving cybersecurity awareness among 
businesses, consumers, and students.
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    \18\ National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), 
Relationship to President's Education Agenda (April 19, 2010), 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/cybersecurity_niceeducation.pdf; see also Commerce Secretary Gary 
Locke Announces NIST to Lead National Initiative for Cybersecurity 
Education, (April 29, 2010), http://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2010/04/29/commerce-secretary-gary-locke-announces-nist-lead-national-initiative.
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    We seek comment on the efficacy of existing educational efforts, as 
well as the steps that might be taken to improve them. Are there data 
that demonstrate that certain educational programs qualify as best 
practices? What have those who are delivering cybersecurity education 
learned from their experiences? Which educational plans are succeeding 
or failing, and have providers of such educational efforts attempted to 
measure return-on-investment? What additional role, if any, should the 
government play in cybersecurity education and awareness efforts? What 
programs, beyond continuing education for IT professionals, workplace 
training for users, or curriculum development for K-12 or post-
secondary institutions, should be developed? Does the private sector 
require government assistance in developing the kinds of materials and 
programs that would be useful in this area? Who should be the target 
audiences?
    Given the dynamic nature of cyber threats, it is important for even 
the most sophisticated commercial entities to be vigilant. One of the 
best ways to improve defensive capabilities is for good actors to share 
important information with each other and with appropriate authorities. 
Yet in our listening sessions, we heard comments that questioned 
whether enough is being done on this front. Security breach legislation 
has gone into effect in many states.\19\ Nonetheless, our current 
perception is that for many reasons firms that have experienced cyber 
intrusions or attacks either do not know with whom to share that 
information or are reluctant to share.
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    \19\ See, e.g., California Database Breach Act, California Civil 
Code Sec. Sec.  1798.80-1798.82 (enacted in 2002).
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    In the immediate aftermath of a recent, high-profile cyber 
incident, we heard a variation on this theme. Reportedly, even the most 
sophisticated small and medium-sized firms are daunted by how 
complicated it can be to share information on the incidents they have 
suffered. A successful, targeted intrusion might involve exploitation 
of a technology vulnerability, loss of customer information, theft of 
intellectual property or other digital assets, and loss of financial 
information. Such an exploit might be executed and addressed in a 
matter of minutes or hours, yet reporting the incident and the losses 
to the proper officials could consume numerous man-hours, with business 
owners unsure whether the expenditure of that amount of time yields any 
benefit to the business.
    We seek comment on whether there is adequate awareness of 
information sharing programs. Are existing information sharing 
mechanisms adequately-resourced but under-utilized? If so, what deters 
their use? How can the state of affairs be improved? Are there parts of 
the business community that do not know the governmental points-of-
contact, US-CERT, to report, share information on, and seek guidance 
regarding cybersecurity incidents? If there are parts of the business 
community that are unaware of available resources, which parts are they 
and what steps might help to raise their awareness? Even among that who 
are aware of the resources and mechanisms available for information 
sharing and assistance, is there a reluctance to use them? If so, why? 
Does the government adequately assist businesses in the throes or in 
the aftermath of a cyber incident? Should the government create a 
cybersecurity service center to assist the business community in 
implementing protection measures, sharing information about cyber 
threats reported by businesses and other sources, and dealing with 
cybersecurity incidents that occur? What other steps can be taken to 
improve situational awareness across the business sector?

3. Web Site and Component Security

    Increasingly, malware and other malicious content are able to 
infect computers and other user access devices (e.g., smart phones) in 
a manner that compromises the integrity of commercial and personal 
information. Such exploits are often launched through interactive Web 
sites that end users access online and through the use of external 
devices (e.g., portable USB drives, digital picture frames). While 
computer training and consumer education programs can reduce the amount 
of malware spread through these means by instructing users in safer 
online practices, there may be other mechanisms or systems that could 
prove effective in reducing such cyber risks.
    In Department of Commerce listening sessions, stakeholders 
identified improved Web site and component security as another area 
where modest technology investments might generate large improvements 
in the level of cybersecurity across the Internet. Should the 
government alone, the private sector, or the government and private 
sector collaboratively explore whether third-party verification of Web 
site and component security is or can prove effective in reducing the 
proliferation of malware? If so, what measures should be considered? 
What would be the implementation challenges in deploying such measures?

4. Authentication/Identity (ID) Management

    In our listening sessions, several stakeholders urged the Task 
Force to promote more widespread uptake of state-of-the-art 
authentication and ID management systems to reduce the incidents of 
successful cyber intrusions and attacks. Effective authentication and 
authorization systems establish a user's right to access resources. 
Many users currently rely on simple password systems for 
authentication. More sophisticated systems require multiple factors in 
the authentication process, for example, something the user knows, plus 
something that the user possesses (e.g., a physical credential or 
token).\20\

[[Page 44221]]

The Department seeks comment on the effectiveness of current identity 
management systems in addressing cybersecurity risks.
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    \20\ Usability, expense, and support issues are significant 
considerations in selection of authentication and authorization 
controls. Most of these systems identify the user. Where the 
identity of the user is important to a system's access policy, 
issuance and maintenance of credentials depends on an underlying 
identity management system. Effective identity management systems 
establish one party's identity to another party's satisfaction, 
increasing consumer trust in the use of the Internet, while 
balancing the security and privacy concerns of all users involved. 
It is worthwhile to remember that ``users'' are not a homogeneous 
group. They consist of individuals, and small, medium, and large 
enterprises, both public and private. The diversity of the 
characteristics among these various categories of users means that 
each group will make selections among various security solutions 
based on different criteria that address their unique needs and 
economic drivers. Privacy considerations also significantly 
complicate identification based on personally identifiable 
information. For many purposes, identification needs to simply 
associate the user's request for access or service with an 
institutional authorization by the entity that is providing the 
access or service. By contrast, more sensitive transactions (e.g., 
online banking or exchange of electronic health records) may require 
authentication of more of an individual's identifying 
characteristics. Various audit and enforcement functions benefit 
from identification of the access with a specific person, but this 
is not necessary for all use cases.
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    On June 25, 2010, the White House released the National Strategy 
for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace for public comment. This strategy 
promotes a set of options for enhancing on-line security and privacy so 
that individuals and organizations use trusted, interoperable identity 
solution as in a manner that promotes confidence, privacy, choice, and 
innovation to experience efficient and secure access to on line 
services.\21\
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    \21\ National Strategy for Secure Identities in Cyberspace, at 1 
(June 25, 2010), available at  http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/ns_tic.pdf.
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    Beyond the measures recommended in the National Strategy for 
Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, what, if any, federal government 
support is needed to improve authentication/identity management 
controls, mechanisms, and supporting infrastructures? Do the 
authentication and/or identity management controls employed by 
commercial organizations or business sectors, in general, provide 
adequate assurance? If not, what improvements are needed? What specific 
controls and mechanisms should be implemented? What role should 
authentication and identity management controls play in a comprehensive 
set of cybersecurity measures available to commercial organizations? 
Are the basic infrastructures that underlie the recommended controls 
and mechanisms already in place? What, if any, new tools or 
technologies for authentication or identify management are available or 
are being developed that may address these needs?
    How can the expense associated with improved authentication/
identity management controls and mechanisms be justified financially? 
How can the U.S. Government best support improvement of authentication/
identity management controls, mechanisms, and supporting 
infrastructures? Is there a continuing need for limited revelation 
identity systems, or even anonymous identity processes and credentials? 
If so, what would be the potential benefits of wide-scale adoption of 
limited revelation identity systems or anonymous credentialing from a 
cybersecurity perspective? What would be the drawbacks?
    How might government procurement activities best promote 
development of a market for more effective authentication tools for use 
by government agencies and commercial entities? Could a private 
marketplace for ``identity brokers'' (i.e., organizations that can be 
trusted to establish identity databases and issue identity credentials 
adequate for authorizing financial transactions and accessing private 
sector components of critical infrastructures) fulfill this need 
effectively? What would be some of the issues or potential impacts of 
establishing standards and best practices for private sector identity 
brokers? Should the government establish a program to support the 
development of technical standards, metrology, test beds, and 
conformance criteria to take into account user concerns such as how to: 
(1) Improve interoperability; (2) strengthen authentication methods; 
(3) improve privacy protection through authentication and security 
protocols; and (4) improve the usability of identity management 
systems? What are the privacy issues raised by identity management 
systems and how should those issues be addressed? Are there particular 
privacy and civil liberties questions raised by government involvement 
in identity management system design and/or operations? What other 
considerations should factor into government's efforts in this area?

5. Global Engagement

    Cybersecurity issues are global. Companies want to design, 
manufacture, and test their products to make them available for sale in 
a global marketplace. Many in industry have described fear about the 
potential for balkanization of the global marketplace due to a 
proliferation of mandated, sometimes unique cybersecurity standards and 
conformity assessment requirements among nations--leading to a diverse 
patchwork of national requirements that can inhibit trade. Such unique 
national standards and conformity assessment requirements illustrate 
one way in which some foreign governments seem to be deviating from 
international norms by using security standards as a de facto entry 
barrier to protect domestic interests from foreign competition.
    We request comment on what other cybersecurity-related problems 
U.S. businesses may be experiencing when attempting to do business in 
foreign countries. Please specify discrete areas of concern, such as 
foreign governments requiring access to product source code. Do U.S. 
businesses confront unfair competition when competing against 
nationally controlled companies? If so, in which countries? How can the 
U.S. Government better encourage the use of internationally accepted 
cybersecurity standards and practices outside of the United States? Are 
there more effective ways for the U.S. Government to engage countries 
that deviate from international norms (i.e., bilaterally, 
multilaterally, through technical dialogues, at an overarching 
political level, all of these or through other mechanisms)? Would a set 
of internationally accepted ``cybersecurity principles'' in the area of 
standards and conformity assessment procedures be useful? If so, what 
role should the Department of Commerce play in promoting such 
internationally accepted principles?

6. Product Assurance

    As noted above, many cybersecurity issues are global, but product 
assurance is one global issue that warrants particular attention. In 
the course of conversations with hardware and software developers, the 
Task Force has heard repeatedly that current domestic and international 
government product assurance efforts for many products can contribute 
to costly time-to-market delays, as well as unnecessarily expensive 
products. Several companies felt that the current U.S. Common Criteria 
assurance scheme is incompatible with industry product development and 
maintenance schedules and practices, and that the security assurance 
derived from many national assurance requirements and evaluation 
schemes is highly questionable.\22\ Additionally, participation in 
international mutual recognition schemes is, reportedly, so limited 
that some in industry see themselves as expending very significant 
resources to satisfy a range of varying security requirements and 
processes among nations in order to compete in a global market. 
Industry members have expressed a desire for assistance in improving 
mutual recognition in the product assurance realm.
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    \22\ More information about the US Common Criteria assurance 
scheme is available at http://www.commoncriteriaportal.org/theccra.html.
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    We seek comment on the following matters. Do current U.S. 
Government

[[Page 44222]]

product assurance requirements inhibit production of timely security 
components and/or security-enhanced IT products and systems? Do current 
assurance processes inhibit innovation? If so, what would be the best 
way to improve the current U.S. product assurance scheme? What, if any, 
changes need to be made with respect to international product assurance 
institutions, standards, and processes (e.g., the Common Criteria 
Recognition Arrangement)? Should the Common Criteria Recognition 
Arrangement, the basis for international mutual recognition of 
cybersecurity product assurance, be expanded to include some of those 
countries which increasingly stray from international norms? Can useful 
U.S. Government or international product assurance guidelines be 
crafted for the current real-world software development environment? To 
what extent can a security oriented software assurance ``tool'' be 
useful in software validation? What elements would be necessary to 
develop an effective industry-government dialogue to clarify the 
product assurance goals and challenges, and identify workable 
solutions?

7. Research and Development

    The U.S. Government has a continuing interest in cybersecurity 
research and development and has funded research on various aspects of 
security in computing, networking, and data processing for decades. 
Together with research and development programs at NIST, DOD, and 
several other agencies, the current unclassified Federal funding in 
Cyber Security and Information Assurance Research and Development is 
approximately $350 million per year. One of the goals of the 
Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) initiated in 
January 2008 is to develop ``leap-ahead'' technologies that would 
achieve orders-of-magnitude improvements in cybersecurity. Based on 
this directive, in 2009, the agencies of the NITRD Program identified 
three initial research and development themes to exemplify and motivate 
future federal cybersecurity game-change research activities.\23\ In 
addition to eliminating redundancies in federally funded cybersecurity 
research, identifying research gaps, and prioritizing research and 
development efforts, the Federal government has actively sought to 
create incentives for private industry and academic institutions to 
increase their research and development efforts.
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    \23\ For more information, please visit http://cybersecurity.nitrd.gov.
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    The following questions should be considered from the perspective 
of the Department of Commerce. How can the federal government best 
promote additional commercial and academic research and development in 
cybersecurity technology? What particular research and development 
areas do not receive sufficient attention in the private sector? What 
cybersecurity disciplines most need research and development resources 
(e.g., performance metrics, availability, status monitoring, usability, 
and cost effectiveness)? How effective would a federal government-
sponsored ``grand challenge program'' be at drawing attention to and 
promoting work on specific technical problems?

8. An Incentives Framework for Evolving Cyber-Risk Options and 
Cybersecurity Best Practices

    Outside the CIKR sectors, U.S. businesses and consumers generally 
have resorted to their own devices and evolved their own practices for 
dealing (or not dealing) with cyber risks. In other words, across large 
segments of the economy, the level of cybersecurity relies upon the 
private sector's development, dissemination and adoption of best 
practices. As Internet usage has grown domestically and abroad, U.S. 
companies have been faced with a range of Internet-related issues. 
Based on feedback the Task Force received, the adoption of industry 
best practices is uneven.
    According to some stakeholders, smaller and medium sized businesses 
may lack the specialized knowledge and resources necessary to meet 
cybersecurity challenges. Some stakeholders also suggested that the 
fundamental challenge may be a misalignment of incentives. Still others 
argued for greater leadership from industry and/or government in 
developing improved standards for securing cyberspace in a manner that 
will promote greater economic benefits from an expanding Internet 
economy. These assertions suggest several questions:
    Are existing incentives adequate to address the current risk 
environment? Do particular business segments lack sufficient incentives 
to make cybersecurity investments? If so, why? What would be the best 
way to encourage businesses to make appropriate investments in 
cybersecurity? Are there public policies or private sector initiatives 
in the United States or other countries that have successfully 
increased incentives to make such security investments? Are there 
disincentives that inhibit cybersecurity investments by firms? If so, 
what should be done to eliminate them?
    Are there examples of cybersecurity best practices that have been 
(or can be) sufficiently tailored to meet the diverse needs of 
commercial actors outside the CIKR sectors? Are those best practices 
well known and understood? Should a set, or sets, of best practices be 
developed to guide commercial organizations' investment decisions? What 
role, if any, should the U.S. Government play in their development?
    Are minimum performance standards for cybersecurity necessary to 
protect individual and collective security interests? If so, how should 
those minimum standards be determined and what could be done to promote 
their adoption? Would a collaborative government-private sector 
partnership be appropriate here? What are the merits of providing legal 
safe-harbors to those individuals and commercial entities that meet a 
specified minimum security level? By contrast, what would be the merits 
or implications of enhancing existing frameworks that hold entities 
accountable for failure to exercise reasonable care and that results in 
a loss due to inadequate security measures? Should an entity be 
required to implement a cybersecurity plan or meet a set of minimum 
security standards prior to receiving government financial guarantees 
or assistance? Would it be beneficial to utilize government procurement 
policies to stimulate cybersecurity research, development, and 
investment generally? How do national security requirements affect the 
commercial sector's adoption of cybersecurity protection measures?
    In addition, companies traditionally carry insurance protection to 
mitigate various business, natural disaster, and political risks. The 
growth of the Internet has begun to create a demand for new insurance 
products that specifically address the risk of Internet 
connectivity.\24\ While there is growth in the adoption of cyber 
insurance, a compelling economic case for large scale underwriting of 
cyber risk insurance, apparently, has not been made. As noted above, 
metrics for establishing the basis for underwriting appear inadequate.
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    \24\ The market for cyber insurance was estimated to be $350 
million in 2005, from a negligible amount almost a decade earlier. 
George Mason University School of Law, Critical Infrastructure 
Protection Program, The CIP Report, at 2 (Sept. 2007), http://cip.gmu.edu/archive/cip_report_6.3.pdf.

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[[Page 44223]]

    What role could/should public policy play, if any, in the 
development of a cyber-risk measurement framework that would be useful 
in developing insurance products? In the face of growing risk from the 
increasing volume of cyber threats and vulnerabilities, what data can 
be made available to companies to support decisions regarding 
protection through the purchase of insurance products or investing more 
in cybersecurity protection controls? If companies were able to 
predictably limit financial risk through specific cyber-insurance 
coverage at a reliably predictable cost, how would this affect 
investment in cyber-security programs and infrastructure?
    To what extent might insurance providers create incentives or 
requirements for such investment? In the absence of empirical data to 
quantify losses from certain types of cyber incidents, what criteria 
could be used to most accurately and effectively determine premium 
costs? What, if any, quantitative relationship can be established 
between investment in security controls and the cost of insurance?

    Dated: July 22, 2010.
Gary Locke,
Secretary of Commerce.
Patrick Gallagher,
Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Francisco J. S[aacute]nchez,
Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, International 
Trade Administration.
Lawrence E. Strickling,
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-18507 Filed 7-27-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P