http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_HACKERS

President-elect Barack Obama should create a new White House office to protect cyberspace from hackers, thieves and foreign agents, coordinating security efforts across U.S. military, intelligence and civilian agencies, according to a new report from a panel of leading government and industry experts.

I’ve been reading about the threat of hacking in cyberspace since the early days of the web in 1995. In one sense, it’s the same old story. And often in the past, the threat has been overstated. But there is a problem with complacency. While no major attacks have happened (this is debatable, of course) yet, meanwhile our networks and “webs” are becoming more and more integrated. It would take a major research project to reveal just how connected things are, what systems are still on private networks, what security exists on public networks, etc. etc. So in a sense, I agree with the panel.

However, it’s a double-edged sword. Once you have a government body tasked with cyberspace, it is sure to overreach its boundaries and original mission. But that’s why you create government watchdog groups, both internal and external. Either way it’s a big mess.