WikileaksRelying on technology to prevent another WikiLeaks
After the WikiLeaks scandal leaked hundreds of thousands of classified documents from military networks, the U.S Intelligence Community (IC) is grappling to find the right balance between information sharing and protection; IC’s information sharing executive says the government is relying on technological solutions to protect data while also sharing information across intelligence agencies; technological solutions will be implemented in a two-pronged approach over the next two years; implementation of these additional security measures is on schedule and the IC’s chief information officer expects to be able to assign security certificates to IC personnel by the first quarter of FY2012
After the WikiLeaks scandal leaked hundreds of thousands of classified documents from military networks, the U.S Intelligence Community (IC) is grappling to find the right balance between information sharing and protection.
According to Corin Stone, IC’s information sharing executive, the government is relying on technological solutions to protect data while also sharing information across intelligence agencies.
Speaking before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Stone said both factors must be weighed equally as the government finds the “sweet spot.”
“In other words, as we increase information sharing, we must also increase the protections afforded to that information,” she said.
Stone recently took charge of sharing intelligence information across the government. Until last October, the IC chief information officer was in charge of that function.
IC is the coalition of all seventeen U.S intelligence agencies and departments including the CIA, the FBI, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The government’s efforts to secure data while also increasing information sharing will primarily rely on technological solutions which will be implemented in a two-pronged approach over the next two years.
Solutions include enhancing logical and physical security controls and prioritizing the mission needs of various intelligence organizations to determine the level of information-sharing needed.
Specific technologies that will be implemented to achieve these goals include end-to-end data management systems, data protection and discoverability.
The IC is currently installing insider threat detection capabilities built by the National Counterintelligence Executive and “technology refresh is a vital part” of this process, Stone said.
In addition, Stone said that new authentication systems were being deployed to “authoritatively identify who is accessing classified information.”
Implementation of these additional security measures is on schedule and the IC’s chief information officer expects to be able to assign security certificates to IC personnel by the first quarter of FY2012.
