This Week in Tech: Cybersecurity takes center stage at conference

By Jennifer Martinez and Brendan Sasso - 02/25/13 11:05 AM ET

Washington's top cyber officials will be in San Francisco at the RSA conference this week to discuss the cyber threats facing the United States and the administration's cybersecurity agenda this year.

White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel will join former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Eric Rosenbach on a panel Tuesday that will cover the latest cyber policy developments coming out of the White House, including the executive order President Obama issued prior to his State of the Union address.

The president signed the order in the wake of congressional gridlock on cybersecurity legislation. It intends to improve information sharing about cyber threats between government and businesses, and it establishes a voluntary program in which critical infrastructure operators would choose to follow a framework of cybersecurity best practices developed, in part, by the government.

Although the order has been released, it’s unclear how long implementation will take and whether companies will participate in the voluntary program.

The administration also recently rolled out a strategy aimed at protecting U.S. companies' intellectual property and keeping other countries from stealing American trade secrets via hacker attacks. The release of the strategy follows a report from security firm Mandiant that alleges an elite military unit of Chinese hackers in Shanghai is likely behind a spate of hacker attacks on U.S. companies and the government.

Google Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf will speak Wednesday on the importance of preserving anonymity and pseudonyms on the Internet.

FBI Director Robert Mueller on Thursday will outline the cyber threats facing the U.S. and describe why strong partnerships with the private sector are crucial to helping the bureau combat these threats. Later in the day, the White House’s Daniel will discuss the administration's approach to handling cyberattacks and espionage threats.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will give a keynote at the conference on Friday.

While officials from Washington are on the West Coast, some leading Bay Area tech startups will be on the Hill on Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with lawmakers and White House officials. Representatives from Etsy, Lyft, Yelp and other startups will participate in the "Startup Day on the Hill" event, which is hosted by the San Francisco-based political organization Engine Advocacy. The group represents tech entrepreneurs and startups.

The group plans to lobby on policy issues critical to entrepreneurs, such as reforming the immigration system for highly skilled and educated workers. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) are among the legislative hosts for the trip.

Meanwhile, two subcommittees for the House Science panel will hold a joint hearing on challenges facing cybersecurity research and development. PayPal Chief Information Security Officer Michael Barrett is slated to testify at the hearing.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday morning on reforming the process used by the government to acquire new information technology. The hearing also will cover a draft bill by Issa, the panel’s chairman, on the subject.

Also on Wednesday, the House Communications and Technology subcommittee will hold a hearing to investigate whether the broadband stimulus is working.

The 2009 stimulus bill included more than $7 billion to fund the expansion of broadband Internet networks. The project is overseen by the Commerce and Agriculture departments.

In a note, the subcommittee said it will investigate “whether taxpayers are getting good return on their investment, examine recent allegations of waste, and discuss measures that might be taken to avoid certain pitfalls in the future.”