According to an article appearing on WashingtonPost.com, the White House is set to increase the role the intelligence agencies play in cyber security operations. Issued under a classified joint directive – National Security Presidential Directive 54/Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23 – signed on January 8 - the National Security Agency (NSA) is being tasked with the job of monitoring the internet traffic of all government agencies.

Prompted by an increasing progression of attacks on government networks the Whitehouse is taking a proactive approach to monitoring networks, something a number of agencies have failed to do successfully, having thus fallen victim to a number of network intrusions.

NSA was chosen because of its experience in monitoring major communications systems – although historically overseas. Moreover, a task force created under the initiative will be headed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which will coordinate efforts to identify the source of network attacks on the government. The Department of Homeland Security will be tasked with network protection, and the Pentagon with developing counterattack measures.

Funding requests are expected to appear in the FY 2009 budget request.

INPUT's Take:

• This appears to be a concerted effort by the administration to take hold of a problem that has been haphazardly addressed by the majority of federal agencies. This initiative, combined with the current creation of the Air Force Cyber Command will be injecting a significant amount of new money into the cyber security market over the coming years.
• The intent to use a spy agency - NSA - for the purpose of monitoring domestic network traffic is certainly going to raise a red flag, especially in light of the wiretapping incidents that have occupied the news over the past few years.

Any discussion of national cyber security is not complete without the inclusion of the national infrastructure - energy grids, power plants, nuclear facilities, water treatment facilities, financial facilities, etc. All are inherently important to the operation of the nation and all are heavily dependent on the use of information systems, so not to include them in the initiative is falling short in providing the necessary protection to the nation's critical infrastructure. However, the use of a classified spy agency to monitor domestic network traffic in the private sector will certainly cause resistance from a Democratic controlled Congress and parts of industry alike.