‘Internet Infrastructure: Challenges in Developing a Public/Private Recovery Plan’

The GAO’s Gregory C. Wilshusen, director, Information Security Issues, has testified before the US Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, House of Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The testimony has been released by the GAO in a document entitled ‘Internet Infrastructure: Challenges in Developing a Public/Private Recovery Plan’. This summarizes the key challenges to establishing a national plan for recovering from Internet disruptions as:

1) Innate characteristics of the Internet that make planning for and responding to disruptions difficult;

2) Lack of consensus on the Department of Homeland Security’s role and when the department should get involved in responding to a disruption;

3) Legal issues affecting DHS’s ability to provide assistance to restore Internet service;

4) Reluctance of many in the private sector to share information on Internet disruptions with DHS, and;

5) Leadership and organizational uncertainties within DHS.

Until these challenges are addressed, DHS will have difficulty achieving results in its role as a focal point for helping the Internet to recover from a major disruption.

Read the full testimony report at
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08212t.pdf

•Date: 25th October 2007• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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