*Y'know, I'm all for a cautious awareness of the dreadful swelling tide of cybercrime and cyberwar... but why is federal computer security always about "awareness"? It's the sister of "environmental consciousness," meaning you're supposed to fret a lot without ever touching the profits or the institutional power of the entities supporting a bad status quo.
*To judge by the paltry number of official enterprises involved in this new promotional campaign, there isn't even that much "awareness," much less any coherent action. This is "awareness" as a substitute for action. It's a blame-the-victim evasion of the deep infrastructural problems of a truly precarious and increasingly criminalized global system.
*Conscious individuals aren't gonna be able to fend off Chinese spearphishing or MySQL attacks. That's no longer realistic, if it ever was. Google and the US Senate can't manage that feat, much less Jane Winecooler curling up in her slanket with her Windows netbook. It's "security theater."
Stop.Think.Connect. Coalition
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By becoming a member of the Cyber Awareness Coalition, organizations can help the Department in getting the word out about Stop.Think.Connect. The Coalition is currently open to all federal agencies and State, local, tribal and territorial governments. Coalition members are engaged in the Campaign through alerts, teleconferences, newsletters, and meetings.
Stop.Think.Connect. Coalition members may collaborate with the Campaign on outreach efforts to reach the target audiences. As members, these organizations are provided access to Campaign materials, templates, resources and tips to assist with promoting cybersecurity.
The Cyber Awareness Coalition offers a built-in mechanism for message and materials dissemination, making effective use of the communications channels and outreach capabilities of both the Campaign and Coalition members. Utilizing these cooperative communication channels can entail:
Encouraging co-branding of materials. Where appropriate, the Campaign will allow space on Campaign materials for Coalition members to add their logo or other branding.
Engaging Coalition Members in all Campaign Programs and Events. To prepare Coalition members for their emerging role within Stop.Think.Connect., the Campaign will brief Coalition members about the progress of the Campaign at their annual meetings; disseminate an e-newsletter to provide ongoing updates; provide ongoing technical assistance to engage members in Campaign programs; and develop and implement training sessions in which we train members for ongoing engagement in the Campaign.
Current Federal Coalition members include:
The Department of Justice
FBI's InfraGard
Department of Education
Federal Communications Commission
National Security Agency
Social Security Administration
Department of State
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Current State Coalition members include:
The State of New Jersey
The State of New York
The State of Michigan (((Well, that's three out of fifty.)))
*Same old story, new platform. Is Jane supposed to stop and think every time she pulls a phone out of her purse? Sure she will.
http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/06/14/plankton-malware-drifts-into-android-market/
