Bennett Urges Preservation of Information Coordination Center, DC

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, February 28, 2000

BENNETT URGES PRESERVATION OF INFORMATION COORDINATION CENTER WASHINGTON, DC

U.S. Senator Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, today urged the preservation of the White House Y2K command center as a national defense facility against cyber terrorism and other high-tech threats.

"The national command center, under the leadership of General Peter Kind and John Koskinen, was very effective during the millennium date change as a focal point for gathering and analyzing real-time information from around the world,@ said Bennett. AThe capabilities of this facility would be well-suited to dealing with the Information Age threats of hackers, cyber terrorism, cyber crime and information warfare."

The Administration=s Information Coordination Center (ICC), a multi-million dollar, high-tech facility located at 18th and G streets in northwest Washington, is scheduled to close in late March. In a letter to President Clinton, Senator Bennett, whose Y2K committee sunsets on Tuesday, urged the re-tooling of the facility to coordinate information about computer hacking and similar incidents among government agencies and private industry.

"The recent attacks against high-profile e-commerce web sites demonstrate the need for a coordinated defense of America=s robust, high-tech economy," said Bennett, who convened a February 23 hearing of the Senate Joint Economic Committee to explore computer vulnerabilities and their economic implications. During the hearing, Bennett questioned witnesses from Sun Microsystems, the CIA, RAND, MCI WorldCom and others regarding the state of U.S. cyberdefense readiness.

"Attacks on American defense and industrial facilities in cyberspace are as real and dangerous as any conventional threat to economic prosperity and national security," said Bennett. "We must work to protect private industry's high-tech infrastructure and safeguard the federal government's ability to meet the defense challenges of the new millennium."

http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/news/pr20000228.htm

-- Jen Bunker (jen@bunkergroup.com), March 01, 2000


Moderation questions? read the FAQ