White House says online investigations, privacy can coexist

Civil liberties and national security are at the core of the White House's cybersecurity agenda, a senior administration official said late Wednesday, amid concerns the FBI's desire to wiretap the Internet conflicts with protecting personal information on the Internet.

"We don't take the position that this is an either-or situation," the official said during the first week of the 7th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. "Hardening our cybersecurity defenses around critical infrastructure and protecting classified and sensitive information go hand in hand and are easy examples to point to."

The FBI wants Web services providers to enable law enforcement officials to retrieve the digital communications of suspected criminals, according to recent media reports. Privacy advocates said such a policy would contradict the government's effort to teach Americans how to secure digital devices. The Obama administration on Monday initiated a public awareness campaign that will provide organizations, neighborhoods and interested users with instructional materials on steps to ward off online intruders.

"Protecting civil liberties and privacy is a fundamental part of this administration's cyber policy and efforts," the senior official said. A privacy and civil liberties official now sits on the National Security Council, following a 2009 cyberspace policy review that recommended the White House designate a dedicated officer to engage with civil liberties groups, he added.

Separately, the nation's cyber czar on Wednesday night told members of the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium Inc., a training and certification association, of the dire need to educate all Americans on being careful online.

"Going forward, economic prosperity and our way of life depend on a resilient cybersecurity infrastructure," said Howard Schmidt, who spoke remotely via video at an awards ceremony honoring federal information security leaders. During cybersecurity awareness month, "it is critical that we recognize the importance of taking collective action to prevent our networks from attack."