Cyber Security: A Crisis of Prioritization

The President's Information Technology Advisory Council focused on the effectiveness of the current cyber security research and development activities. The PITAC found that federally-funded R&D programs are too focused on short-term and defense-oriented problems and solutions. Meanwhile, there is too little research on civilian IT vulnerabilities, which also supports defensive operations. The PITAC recommends changing research activities to increase funding for civilian cyber security by $90 million annually at the NSF and by substantial amounts at DARPA and the Department of Homeland Security. The government should also increase efforts to recruit and keep cyber security researchers at research universities. Top-shelf cyber security software should also be disseminated from the government to the private sector. Finally, the Interagency Working Group on Critical Infrastructure Protection should be more developed and placed under the NITRD Program.