DHS Wants Firms to Reveal Weaknesses

The Dept. of Homeland Security quietly brought its long-awaited Critical Infrastructure Information Act (CIIA) into effect last week.

The plan requires the private sector to disclose any perceived or known security weaknesses in computer networks, physical plants, power grids and other infrastructure they own which the government considers to be essential to the nation's business. DHS is assuring companies that disclosed information will be protected with the utmost care.

The ambitious plan, which has been more than a year in the making, was borne out of concerns that more than four-fifths of the nation's critical infrastructure currently is in private hands and may be vulnerable to terrorists.

Critics have raised fears that the new policy could require businesses to allocate untold sums of money to correcting their disclosed problems. Similarly, consumer advocates fear that companies may use the CIIA's confidentiality provisions to conceal product or health and safety shortcomings from the public. Meanwhile, firms themselves and industry associations throughout the US have expressed concerns over how the DHS plans to secure the sensitive information, which would represent a veritable encyclopedia of soft targets for any terrorists who accessed it.

While the regulation is now in effect, DHS is allowing for 90 days of public comment. The Wall Street Journal's Robert Block details the new law, its terms and the arguments of some major CIIA critics in a recent article. To read it, Click HERE>>