US to establish anti-cyber terrorism agency

The Obama administration is to establish a new agency intended to integrate intelligence from around the government to combat the growing threat from cyber-attacks.

Over the past few years, several significant cyber-incidents have affected U.S. companies and government networks. Disruptions of major bank Web sites, thought to be coming from Iran,  a Russian intrusion into the White House’s unclassified computer network and the North Korean hack of Sony Pictures have highlighted the problem.

“The cyber-threat is one of the greatest threats we face, and policymakers and operators will benefit from having a rapid source of intelligence,” Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, said in an interview. “It will help ensure that we have the same integrated, all-tools approach to the cyber-threat that we have developed to combat terrorism.”

Not everybody is enthusiastic about the news, however. Some question why a new agency is needed when the government already has several agencies dedicated to monitoring and analyzing cyber-threats. 

Melissa Hathaway, a former White House cybersecurity coordinator and president of Hathaway Global Strategies noted that the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the National Security Agency all have cyber-operations centers, and the FBI and the NSA are able to integrate information. 

“We should not be creating more organizations and bureaucracy,” said Hathaway. “We need to be forcing the existing organizations to become more effective — hold them accountable.”