U.S. opens center to fight cyber attacks

The United States is far behind in the battle against cybercriminals, said on Friday, Sen. Joe Lieberman, while Homeland Security officials inaugurated an operations center at a cost of nine million dollars to better coordinate the government response to such attacks .

Lieberman, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, said the legislation is designed by his committee to require federal agencies and private companies to establish a system for sharing information on computer attacks.

Independent Senator, said the Homeland Security Department should identify weaknesses in systems that operate power plants and other critical infrastructure.

As outlined his proposal to executives of the Chamber of Commerce, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano inaugurated the new National Center for Integration of Communications and Cyber Security in Virginia, near Washington.

Facing a wall of video screens showing graphs and maps of potential cyber threats and suspicious internet traffic, Napolitano said the center will allow observation of high-tech computers that monitor government networks work together better.

With 61 computer stations scattered around the room, the center would combine the Emergency Response Team Computer U.S. (US-CERT, for its acronym in English) and the National Coordinating Center for Telecommunications.

Federal officials have indicated that government computer systems are tested and scrutinized millions of times a day and faced a growing threat from hackers, cyber criminals looking to steal money or information, and by nations through espionage or the destruction of vital services networks operating.

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