Einstein or Echelon or Does it really matter...

June 2009

Obama Administration begins work on cybersecurity R&D. Maximizing government investment in federal cybersecurity research and development is a major component of the U.S. President’s plan to bolster defenses against high-tech attacks. If the White House’s new cyber strategy and key agencies’ fiscal 2010 budget requests are any indication, they are off to a solid start. In the near term, the White House’s unnamed cyber czar will be charged with developing a framework for R&D strategies that focus on “game-changing technologies” and provide the research community access to event data to help develop tools and testing theories, according to the May 29 report, which stemmed from a 60-day review. That czar will eventually develop threat scenarios and metrics for risk management decisions, recovery planning and R&D prioritization. “Research on new approaches to achieving security and resiliency in information and communications infrastructures is insufficient,” the report stated. “The government needs to increase investment in research that will help address cybersecurity vulnerabilities while also meeting our economic needs and national security requirements.” The President proposed a $37.2 million cyber R&D budget for DHS in fiscal 2010 to support operations in its national cybersecurity division as well as projects within the CNCI. DHS is using much of its fiscal 2009 allotment to deploy Einstein, a system to analyze civilian agencies’ systems for cyber threats and intrusions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_(US-CERT_program)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON