HSD warns of cyberattacks, names officials to top IT posts

By Wilson P. Dizard III

Connecting state and local government leaders

| March 21, 2003

Shortly after President Bush set a 48-hour deadline last week for President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face invasion, the Homeland Security Department reminded Internet users to be vigilant for cyberattacks.

Shortly after President Bush set a 48-hour deadline last week for President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face invasion, the Homeland Security Department reminded Internet users to be vigilant for cyberattacks.The warning came as the department named several senior managers who will oversee systems.The department and other federal agencies are monitoring 'the Internet for signs of a potential terrorist attack, cyberterrorism, hacking and state-sponsored information warfare,' a Homeland Security statement said. 'Industry and public Internet users are reminded of the importance of employing sound security practices and reporting unusual activity or intrusion attempts to DHS or local law enforcement.'The warning followed a major move to fill top-level IT posts.Laura Callahan, deputy CIO of the Labor Department, was tapped to join the department as deputy CIO. Frank Libutti, New York City's counterterrorism director, took the post of undersecretary for information assurance and infrastructure protection.Meanwhile, President Bush announced that he would appoint Robert P. Liscouski assistant secretary for infrastructure protection and Paul J. Redmond to be the assistant secretary for information analysis, under Libutti.Liscouski is the director of information assurance for the Coca-Cola Co. of Atlanta and is a member of the Intelligence Science Board. In his new job, he will assess vulnerabilities of critical resources and infrastructure. Redmond, a 30-year CIA veteran, most recently was associate deputy director for operations for counterintelligence. He will work with Liscouski to assess terrorist threats and identify priorities.Meanwhile, CIA director George Tenet has appointed John Brennan to be director of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, the interagency hub for terrorist information. Brennan is a 23-year CIA veteran who has worked in counterterrorism and at posts in the Middle East.

Laura Callahan

Infrastructure protection

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