FBI's Mueller urges companies to share info on cyber crime

FBI Director Robert Mueller wants companies to share information with authorities after they have been victimized by cyber criminals.

In a recent speech at a cybersecurity conference in New York sponsored by the FBI and Fordham University, Mueller said bureau officials would do their best to minimize disruption to businesses that share such information and would in turn share the bureau's information about the means and methods of attack as quickly as possible.

“We do not want you to feel victimized a second time by an investigation,” he said Aug. 5, according to a copy of the speech released by the FBI.

The government wants industry to share more information about cyberattacks because most of the country’s critical infrastructure is in private hands. Meanwhile, some industry officials say the government needs to share more data with companies, and they worry that the data they share with the government could become public and hurt business.

“Remember that for every investigation in the news, there are hundreds that will never make the headlines,” Mueller said. "Disclosure is the exception, and not the rule. That said, we cannot act if we are not aware of the problem. Maintaining a code of silence will not benefit you or your clients in the long run.”

Mueller also discussed cyber terrorism. He said terrorists have not used the Internet to launch a full-scale cyberattack but have executed denial-of-service attacks and defaced Web sites.

“As you well know, a cyberattack could have the same impact as a well-placed bomb,” he said, adding that in the past decade, al Qaeda’s online presence “has become almost as potent as its physical presence.”