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The key points of the plan closely mirror recommendations offered late last year by a bipartisan commission of computer security experts, which urged then president-elect Obama to set up a high-level post to tackle cyber security, consider new regulations to combat cyber crime and shore up the security of the nation's most sensitive computer networks. The strategy, as outlined in a broader policy document on homeland security priorities posted on the Whitehouse.gov Web site Wednesday, states the following goals: * Strengthen Federal Leadership on Cyber Security: Declare the cyber infrastructure a strategic asset and establish the position of national cyber advisor who will report directly to the president and will be responsible for coordinating federal agency efforts and development of national cyber policy. * Initiate a Safe Computing R&D Effort and Harden our Nation's Cyber Infrastructure: Support an initiative to develop next-generation secure computers and networking for national security applications. Work with industry and academia to develop and deploy a new generation of secure hardware and software for our critical cyber infrastructure. * Protect the IT Infrastructure That Keeps America's Economy Safe: Work with the private sector to establish tough new standards for cyber security and physical resilience. * Prevent Corporate Cyber-Espionage: Work with industry to develop the systems necessary to protect our nation's trade secrets and our research and development. Innovations in software, engineering, pharmaceuticals and other fields are being stolen online from U.S. businesses at an alarming rate. * Develop a Cyber Crime Strategy to Minimize the Opportunities for Criminal Profit: Shut down the mechanisms used to transmit criminal profits by shutting down untraceable Internet payment schemes. Initiate a grant and training program to provide federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies the tools they need to detect and prosecute cyber crime. *

Supercharging the HVA Engineering and Maintenance Risk Assessment in the Healthcare Setting Webinar Registration Hospitals have been under close scrutiny for years to insure they evaluate and mitigate risks and exposures that could impact their ability to deliver healthcare services under all conditions. A staple of this activity is the "Hazard Vulnerability Assessment". A traditional HVA looks at specific threats within four categories (natural, technological, human and hazardous materials). While the HVA is useful for auditors looking to confirm minimum compliance, it does not properly arm the organization to assess how risk, mitigation strategies and limited capital can effectively be deployed for maximum benefit. Come hear from leaders of Deaconess Health Systems Engineering and Maintenance team on how they partnered with Virtual Corporation to execute an effective risk assessment methodology and toolkit across the DHS enterprise. Participants will see examples of innovative risk mapping and reporting methods that yield high information density in simple, understandable format. Presenters: Mark Merrill, Facility Engineer, Deaconess Health System Tom Barnett, Manager, Engineering and Maintenance, Deaconess Health System Scott Ream, President, Virtual Corporation Webinar Registration Hospitals have been under close scrutiny for years to insure they evaluate and mitigate risks and exposures that could impact their ability to deliver healthcare services under all conditions. A staple of this activity is the "Hazard Vulnerability Assessment". A traditional HVA looks at specific threats within four categories (natural, technological, human and hazardous materials). While the HVA is useful for auditors looking to confirm minimum compliance, it does not properly arm the organization to assess how risk, mitigation strategies and limited capital can effectively be deployed for maximum benefit. Come hear from leaders of Deaconess H

Privacy and civil liberties advocates are urging lawmakers working on the forthcoming economic stimulus package to ensure that any language to spur adoption of electronic medical records includes meaningful security safeguards. The American Civil Liberties Union, Consumer Action, the National Association of Social Workers, Patient Privacy Rights and others sent letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday asking them to ensure individuals can control the use of their medical records and protect them from what they believe is a thriving industry of firms that share and sell medical data. "We all want to innovate and improve health care, but without privacy our system will crash as any system with a persistent and chronic virus will," Patient Privacy Rights executive director Ashley Katz said at a Capitol Hill briefing. Katz said her group has been pleased with progress that the House Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means committees made last year.

The Federal Trade Commission is planning three public discussions, starting in December, devoted to technology and consumer privacy. According to the FTC, the roundtables will address topics such as social networking, cloud computing, online advertising and mobile marketing, the goal being "to determine how best to protect consumer privacy while supporting beneficial uses of the information and technological innovation." Behavioral advertising, in particular, has come under fire by privacy groups. Earlier this month, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Consumers Union and other related organizations called for stronger rules limiting what kinds of personal information are collected by marketers and how long they can hold on them.

Ah, social networking. It's become the fabric of today's Internet generation. Don't have a Twitter account? Heavens, even Sen. John McCain has a Twitter account. Signed up with Facebook? Only losers don't have a Facebook account. MySpace? Not bad, but it's so five minutes ago. But as lovely as social networking may be, there are a few problems. One of the biggest appears to be that you can kiss your privacy good-bye. Now, I'm not talking about the predilection of some people to share intimate details about themselves on social networking sites. I'm actually referring to the other things that might help contribute to your financial ruin. Those most enthusiastic about social networking are cybercriminals. They drool at the prospect of seeing the personal information of the 175 million people on Facebook. And they know how to use that information. For example, cybercrooks take great interest in the names of pets or grandparents on Facebook pages. That's the kind of information that banks and credit-card companies use to verify who you are when you bank online. "There are so many people on social-networking sites that it is becoming profitable for bad guys to go there," David Perry, global director of education at software security firm Trend Micro, recently told Agence France-Presse (AFP). "Bad guys can see all the things you post. You may be revealing personal information that is extremely valuable." Now Facebook has made revealing personal information even easier. This past week, it announced that users can change their privacy settings so everyone can see their profile. The company was actually responding to a request from many users who wanted the ability to share their information with even more people. As I said, cybercrooks are drooling.