Ridge pushes public-private technology partnerships

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said on Thursday that continued federal investments in security technology and government partnerships with the technology industry, if done correctly, will mean more freedom and collateral benefits for Americans, not less.

"Homeland security is about building bridges to one another as we build barriers to terrorists," Ridge said during a lunchtime address before the CEO Forum of the Business Software Alliance. "The technological bridge is the most important," Ridge said, with homeland security fundamentally about sharing information.

Ridge emphasized that the Homeland Security Department already has made significant contributions to U.S. security, with much due to advances in technology. He noted that before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, "if you wanted to board an airplane, an attendant asked you if you packed your bags. Today, we thoroughly check passengers and luggage for weapons. We've made great improvements. Flying commercial aviation today is far safer."

Homeland Security makes no distinction between physical and cyber infrastructure, Ridge said, and re-emphasized the department's commitment to cybersecurity through its division on information analysis and infrastructure protection, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, and a cyber-security tracking center to monitor threats in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University's computer-emergency response team.

"Most cyber attacks are the work of hackers," Ridge said, but they will come from terrorists in the future. "The enemies of freedom use the same technology that we do."

Ridge said developing security technology will remain a department priority for the foreseeable future, with $75 million to fund prototype development included in Homeland Security's fiscal 2004 budget. The Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency will invest hundreds of millions of dollars annually in new technology, he said.

Ridge also praised the Business Software Alliance's new task force and template for corporate network security. "We need to make the case to companies that it is in your best interest to secure your facilities," he said.

"Technology has helped keep the United States the land of the free," he said. "It will be used to stop terrorists at our borders and keep legitimate commerce flowing through. It is up to us to make our technology interdependence a strength and not a weakness. We need a system made up of safety nets, both human and electronic."