Check out this clip from an article from UPI.com posted over at the Washington Times website:
Former CIA Director George J. Tenet yesterday called for new security measures to guard against attacks on the United States that use the Internet, which he called "a potential Achilles' heel."
"I know that these actions will be controversial in this age when we still think the Internet is a free and open society with no control or accountability," he told an information-technology security conference in Washington, "but ultimately the Wild West must give way to governance and control."
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson resigned Friday, warning of a potential global outbreak of the flu and health-related terror attacks. "For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do," he said.
I wonder what kind of new laws will have to get passed to help us be "protected" against these terrorist threats and how many rights we'll lose along the way. With the neo-cons in control, anything's possible!
From UPI.com and the Washington Times website:
Tenet calls for Internet security
By Shaun Waterman
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
Published December 2, 2004
Former CIA Director George J. Tenet yesterday called for new security measures to guard against attacks on the United States that use the Internet, which he called "a potential Achilles' heel."
"I know that these actions will be controversial in this age when we still think the Internet is a free and open society with no control or accountability," he told an information-technology security conference in Washington, "but ultimately the Wild West must give way to governance and control."
The former CIA director said telecommunications -- and specifically the Internet -- are a back door through which terrorists and other enemies of the United States could attack the country, even though great strides have been made in securing the physical infrastructure.
The Internet "represents a potential Achilles' heel for our financial stability and physical security if the networks we are creating are not protected," Mr. Tenet said.
He said known adversaries, including "intelligence services, military organizations and non-state actors," are researching information attacks against the United States.
Within the federal government, the Department of Homeland Security has the lead role in protecting the Internet from terrorism. But the department's head of cyber-security recently quit amid reports that he had clashed with his superiors.
Mr. Tenet, who retired in July as director of the CIA after seven years, warned that al Qaeda remains a sophisticated group, even though its first-tier leadership largely has been destroyed.
It is "undoubtedly mapping vulnerabilities and weaknesses in our telecommunications networks," he said.
Mr. Tenet pointed out that the modernization of key industries in the United States is making them more vulnerable by connecting them with an Internet that is open to attack.
The way the Internet was built might be part of the problem, he said. Its open architecture allows Web surfing, but that openness makes the system vulnerable, Mr. Tenet said.
Access to networks like the World Wide Web might need to be limited to those who can show they take security seriously, he said.
Mr. Tenet called for industry to lead the way by "establishing and enforcing" security standards. Products need to be delivered to government and private-sector customers "with a new level of security and risk management already built in."
The national press, including United Press International (UPI), were excluded from yesterday's event, at Mr. Tenet's request, organizers said.
Copyright © 2004 News World Communications, Inc
Thompson Resigns From Bush's Cabinet
Dec 3, 3:49 PM (ET)
By RON FOURNIER
WASHINGTON (AP) - Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson resigned Friday, warning of a potential global outbreak of the flu and health-related terror attacks. "For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do," he said.
Thompson, the eighth member of Bush's 15-person Cabinet to resign since the Nov. 2 election, said he tried to leave office a year ago, but stayed through Bush's re-election campaign at the request of the White House.
"It's time for me and my family to move on to the next chapter in our life," he said.
News of his departure came not long after Bush introduced former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik as Tom Ridge's successor to be secretary of homeland security.
As for Thompson's successor, the secretary had not yet stepped before the microphones when officials said Mark McClellan, the Medicare chief and brother of White House press secretary Scott McClellan, was Bush's likely choice to take over the sprawling HHS bureaucracy.
Thompson said McClellan would make "a great secretary." But he also dropped the names of several other potential candidates, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Thompson listed accomplishments of his tenure but also said he worries about a worldwide flu pandemic in an era when vaccine is in short supply.
The former Wisconsin governor has warned about food safety issues since before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and pushed for more money for safeguards. Spending on food security has increased from $800,000 to $150 million during Thompson's tenure, and there are eight times as many food inspections now as in 2001, according to HHS figures.
Thompson, who served 14 years as Wisconsin governor, said he plans to explore private sector jobs and expressed an interest in advancing health care causes across the globe. He also didn't rule out a return to elective office.
"That's entirely possible. I happen to love politics. Why would I say no? There's a Senate seat open," he said. Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl's term expires in 2006.
Thompson said he intends to serve until Feb. 4 or until the Senate confirms his successor.
As for Bush's homeland security nominee, Kerik is the former military man who helped New York get back on its feet after the Sept. 11 terror attack.
"Bernie Kerik is one of the most accomplished and effective leaders of law enforcement in America," Bush said at the White House, standing at his nominee's side.
Kerik said what he witnessed in the days after the attacks would be etched in his mind if he were confirmed to lead the department. "I know what is at stake," he said.
"Both the memory of those courageous souls and the horrors I saw inflicted upon our proud nation will serve as permanent reminders of the awesome responsibility you place in my charge," he said.
Bush also lost his ambassador to the United Nations, John Danforth, who is retiring.
Friday's White House announcement ceremony - this time for Kerik - has become a ritual as Bush rounds out a Cabinet for his second term. He stood in the Roosevelt Room with Kerik, as the nominee's wife and some of their children looked on.
Joe Allbaugh, the former FEMA director who was mentioned as a candidate for the job, said Kerik will "be drinking water from a fire hose for quite a while, but I know he's up to the challenge."
Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Kerik's boss in city government and later at a private consulting firm, told The Associated Press the former undercover detective would surprise many within the sprawling bureaucracy of homeland security.
"When you see him, he's a big strong guy and a black belt," said Giuliani. "What you get to know when you work with him is how smart he is ... how effective and sophisticated a manager he is."
Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said, "There is no doubt that Bernie is a strong, no-nonsense manager who is intimately familiar with the homeland security mission."
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said her panel would conduct confirmation hearings as swiftly as possible.
A military policeman in South Korea in the 1970s, Kerik's first anti-terrorism work was as a private security worker in Saudi Arabia. He joined the New York Police Department in 1986, first walking a beat in Times Square when it was still a haven for small-time hustlers.
He eventually was tapped to lead the city's corrections department, and was appointed police commissioner in 2000.
Kerik inherits a new and sprawling bureaucracy. The creation of the department in 2003 combined 22 disparate federal agencies with more than 180,000 employees and a combined budget of $36 billion. The organization has faced criticism ranging from the coordination of finances to computer systems.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press
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