Susan Collins

Information Sharing Report: Private Industry Relationship Needs Work

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The U.S. government is doing a decent job sharing information among federal agencies and international partners, but the relationship with private industry still needs work, according to a recent report to Congress.

The Program Manager Information Sharing Environment annual report for 2012 noted that
law enforcement inter agency groups are doing particularly well at sharing information. They’re doing so through the state and major urban area “fusion centers, the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative and the Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group.” Keep reading →

 /  Published August 2, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Don’t Wait For Cyber ‘Pearl Harbor’: Russia & China Are Stealing Our Lunch Now

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As the Senate reconvenes to debate the Lieberman-Collins cybersecurity bill, President Obama himself has set the stakes in terms of preventing a future catastrophic attack. But some say the real and present danger is what’s happening under our noses right now, in an online theft of intellectual property that Cyber Command chief Gen. Keith Alexander called “the greatest transfer of wealth in history.” Keep reading →

 /  Published July 30, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Cybersecurity Act Of 2012 Challenged on Capitol Hill; McCain To Draft Alternative

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Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) on Thursday ripped into the authors and supporters of the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 for what he called “legislative bullying,” suggesting that democrats are attempting to push a flawed bill through the Senate without input from those that oppose the bill.

During a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, McCain sent an unexpected shot across the bow of committee chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), stating that a lack of transparency in the legislative process that led to the drafting of the bill has now forced him and at least seven other Republicans to begin work on “an alternative” cybersecurity bill that they plan to introduce before the end of the month. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 16, 2012 at 5:54 PM

9/11 Management Lessons: #3 Process Oversight, Effect Key To Mission

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While in the throes of merging multiple agencies and thousands of employees nearly a decade ago, DHS and ODNI leaders became so focused on the mission — keeping Americans safe — that key management functions often fell through the proverbial cracks and ultimately weakened capabilities.

Management, it appears, is central to mission. That’s Lesson Three in a report released this week by the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton detailing four lessons from the creation of and subsequent problems within the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 1, 2011 at 4:30 PM