IT infrastructure protection group takes shape

A newly formed Information Technology Sector Coordinating Council is expected to debut today, consisting of owners and operators of critical IT infrastructures who will work with the Homeland Security Department to safeguard the IT sector from terrorist attack.

IT industry leaders have been organizing the group for several months under the guidance of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 and DHS.

Today the council is expected to announce an interim advisory board that will develop bylaws and a formal structure within 90 days, according to industry sources.

Members of the advisory board include Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, and Guy Copeland, vice president of information infrastructure advisory programs for Computer Sciences Corp. of El Segundo, Calif., and president of the IT Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

Under the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, private sector owners in each of 17 critical sectors?including IT, water, energy, food, banking, medical care and transportation?have been advised to self-organize and to create sector coordinating councils to share information with a lead government agency for their sector. For IT, the lead agency is DHS.

DHS was informed earlier this week that the IT sector council has agreed to form, but the bylaws are not yet final. Members of the council include representatives of major IT companies, IT industry groups and a telecommunications industry representative.

Other members of the interim advisory board include:

• Michael Aisenberg, director of public policy at Verisign Inc.


• Larry Clinton of the Internet Security Alliance


• Jerry Cochran and Philip Reitinger, senior security strategists, Microsoft Corp.


• Ken Watson, senior manager, Cisco Critical Infrastructure Assurance Group


• Bob Dix, vice president of government affairs, Citadel Security Software Inc.


• Peter Allor, director of intelligence for of Internet Security Systems Inc.