Sharing the Knowledge: Government-private Sector Partnerships to Enhance Information Security

Steven M. Rinaldi

jan. 2000 · USAF Institute for National Security Studies

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This is the 33rd volume in the Occasional Paper series of the U.S. Air Force Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). This paper, along with Occasional Paper 32, Richard Aldrich's "Cyberterrorism and Computer Crimes: Issues Surrounding the Establishment of an International Legal Regime,"address the context surrounding the question of how the U.S. military responds to the cyber threat facing the American military and society today. The U.S. military has become increasingly dependent upon the nation's information and communications infrastructures. Concurrently, threats to and vulnerabilities in these infrastructures are expanding, in large part due to structural factors not likely to disappear in the future. To prevail against the increasing threat, the military -- and, more broadly, the government -- needs to adopt a risk reduction and management program. A crucial element of this risk management program is information sharing with the private sector. However, substantial barriers threaten to block information exchanges between the government and private sector. These barriers include concerns over release of sensitive material under Freedom of Information Act requests, antitrust actions, protection of business confidential and other private material, possible liability due to shared information, disclosure of classified information, and burdens entailed with cooperating with law enforcement agencies. There is good cause to believe that the government and private sector can overcome these barriers, guided by lessons learned from numerous successful government-private sector information-sharing mechanisms. This analysis concludes with actions the government should undertake to develop an information-sharing mechanism with the private sector. Key among them are actively engaging the private sector from the onset, determining information requirements, and fostering a partnership based on trust.