Improving our nation’s cyber-infrastructure is of critical importance for national and economic security. Cyber-attacks can have a devastating impact on both government agencies and manufacturers, which dampens our economic growth and competiveness. Manufacturers are pleased President Obama has put forward a plan to help improve our nation’s defenses against harmful attacks.

The plan announced by the Administration includes many key reforms sought by manufacturers, including better collaboration between private industry and the government to identify and respond to threats and attacks. Policies which draw on industry wide best practices and partnership with the government are vital for manufacturers continue to lead in responding to new threats. 

We look forward to working with both the Administration and Congress as they begin to discuss cybersecurity reforms. 

Brian Raymond is director of technology and domestic economic policy, National Association of Manufacturers.

From Computer World:

Hackers, perhaps affiliated with a well-known Russian criminal network, have attacked and hijacked Web sites belonging to Georgia, the former Soviet republic now in the fourth day of war with Russia, a security researcher claimed on Sunday.

Some Georgian government and commercial sites are unavailable, while others may have been hijacked, said Jart Armin, a researcher who tracks the notorious Russian Business Network (RBN), a malware and criminal hosting network.

“Many of Georgia’s Internet servers were under external control from late Thursday,” Armin said early Saturday in an entry on his Web site.

More from the blog, Wilmette:

Russia and Georgia are at war, and the war includes Russia’s hacking and/or taking down Georgia’s official government websites. In one of the most unusual and creative uses of blogger, the Google blogging platform that hosts this blog and perhaps one million more, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Georgia is using blogspot as its method of communicating with the world. You can click here to see the government blog, which is available at http://georgiamfa.blogspot.com/. There is a complete list of the military actions taken by Russia. Some of the earlier information also appears on the English version of the website of the President of Poland at the request of the President of Georgia.

President Bush has scheduled a White House press event on the Russian invasion of Georgia for 5:15 p.m. tonight.

(Hat tip: Michelle Malkin.)