New Haven, CT
United States
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Remarks as prepared for delivery
Thank you, U.S. Attorney [Deirdre] Daly, for that very kind
introduction, for your outstanding service to the people of Connecticut and for
your critical leadership on the important matters we have come together to
discuss. I also want to recognize
Senators [Richard] Blumenthal and [Chris] Murphy, who have been such
outstanding, thoughtful allies on this issue and so many others. And I’d like to thank each of you for taking
the time to participate in today’s symposium as we explore new ways to advance
a vital set of shared objectives: thwarting cyberattacks, defending American
innovation and protecting the American people.
It’s a pleasure to be here with all of you and it’s a privilege to join
so many talented colleagues, knowledgeable experts and dedicated private-sector
partners from a broad range of industries.
Each of you was invited to participate today because, as
major corporate leaders, you are on the front lines of this nation’s fight
against cybercrime. Recent cyberattacks
– affecting institutions from Sony to Anthem to the federal government itself –
have demonstrated the scope and the scale of the challenge we face, as well as
the urgency of forging effective solutions.
As cybercriminals get more sophisticated, as their techniques evolve and
as their networks cross borders, we need to work together more closely than
ever.
Safeguarding our essential information networks and the
personal and private data that they hold is one of my top priorities as
Attorney General and the Department of Justice is using every tool at its
disposal to work proactively, respond swiftly and adapt constantly to this
threat. We are working with the FBI and
the U.S. Secret Service to investigate and prosecute the most serious cyber
intrusions. We are reaching out to
industry leaders like you to discuss new innovations and opportunities. And we recently assigned a number of
experienced cyber attorneys from the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property
Section to focus specifically on increasing collaboration not only within the
government, but also between private entities and law enforcement. Those partnerships are vital to helping
potential targets of cyberattacks protect themselves against intrusions before
they happen and to providing assistance and support when incidents do occur.
This state witnessed the power of public-private
partnerships four years ago when the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI in
Connecticut responded to a referral from a private company that hundreds of its
computers had been compromised by what was ultimately discovered to be
malicious software intended to form the Coreflood botnet. As a result of that company’s early
disclosure – and with the help of experts from their ranks and additional
network security companies – we were able to free the computers from criminal
control, stop the criminal activity, protect important systems and clean over
95 percent of the computers that had been infected worldwide. The Coreflood operation has been a model for
bringing the public and private sectors together to address cyber threats and
it proved successful again last summer in taking down the infamous GameOver
Zeus botnet.
Effective actions like these demonstrate why the federal
government in general and the Department of Justice in particular, needs your
help to ensure the security of America’s information networks. In order to be fully effective, we depend on
you to tell us when you suspect a breach in your system. We rely on you to inform our investigations
with in-house expertise. And we count on
you to work with us collaboratively to identify and notify victims, minimize
the impact of an intrusion and help prevent similar attacks in the future. Working together, we can keep one another
informed when hackers move to exploit new areas of weakness. We can develop comprehensive strategies for
confronting this threat and thwarting damaging crimes. We can help protect your assets and safeguard
Americans. And we can ensure that
wrongdoers are brought to justice.
I want you to know that I am personally committed to
strengthening our nation’s cyber-defenses and cyber-preparedness and I intend
to do everything I can to help you keep your companies, your customers and all
Americans safe from exploitation, fraud and abuse. I urge you to let me know if there are
resources or support that you need to keep your marketplaces secure and
thriving. And I hope – and expect – that
today’s conversation will continue long after this meeting has concluded.
I want to thank you again for joining us at today’s
symposium and I look forward to all that we will achieve together in the days
and months ahead.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment