President Creates Cyber Czar Position Following P2P Breach of Classified Governmental Files ;
June 10th, 2009 | Published in All Articles, Data Loss, Government, Identity Theft, News Articles
PITTSBURGH — On Friday, May 29th President Barack Obama announced he was creating a position to deal with cyber threats.
The president said cyber threats are one of the most serious challenges facing the country now.
For months Target 11 News in Pittsburg has been reporting about highly sensitive government files leaking to the public through file-sharing programs.
In February, Target 11 News was the first to report blueprints for the presidential helicopter fleet, Marine One, were found at an IP address in Iran.
In April, information about a new Pentagon fighter jet program was discovered on a computer in China.
Those leaks and many others were found by the Cranberry Internet security company Tiversa.
Bob Boback, CEO of Tiversa, said that sensitive information is being leaked through peer-to-peer file-sharing programs typically used to share music and videos.
He has been sounding the alarm about these security problems for years,and now Congress is considering two bills that would regulate peer-to-peer use.
In May, Boback testified before the congressional subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection about file-sharing dangers.
Boback said, “We reported it to the Department of Defense it’s still here, and it’s still out there. The awareness is not where it needs to be; the oversight is not where it needs to be.”
On Friday, Boback said he has been meeting with high-level officials from the White House and Defense Department for several weeks discussing cybersecurity and how to keep sensitive information safe in the future.
Boback said those same officials will be in Pittsburgh next week to continue discussions on the government’s cybersecurity plan.
After the president’s announcement, Boback said, “This administration has been very proactive at looking at cybersecurity issues, a much-needed look.”