~no-notice NII Security Issues Forum meeting in DC, tommorrow!

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

[ Excerpt from ALA Washington Office Newsline, an electronic publication of
the American Library Association Washington Office,Vol.4, Number 29, March
27, 1995.


Interesting that it is scheduled just as the Computers, Freedom & Privacy
conference begins on the opposite coast, in which many of the people and
experts who are most concerned with these issues are participating, and
that no notice of it appeared in the Federal Register until *after* the
March 20th deadline to apply to present testimony.


One wonders if they *really* want any input from the real world "public"
beyond their Beltway.  Or perhaps they just don't have a clue as to what's
actually happening in the rest of the world - beyond their "Center of the
Universe."


--jim    <permission granted for full repost; ALA says for nonprofit purposes>
Jim Warren, GovAccess moderator; columnist, MicroTimes/Govt.Tech/BoardWatch ]




                 NII SECURITY FORUM SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 28


The March 21, 1995 _Federal Register_ announced a public meeting of the
National Information Infrastructure Security Issues Forum to be held on
March 28, 1995.  The meeting has been titled "The NII:  Will It Be There
When You Need It? Will It Be Safe To Use."  The location will be Room 4830
of the Department of Commerce.


Two panels from the public will be assembled to address specific issues
during the meeting.  While the March 20th deadline for requesting to appear
as part of one of these to panels had passed before this _Federal Register_
announcement was made, the Forum will accept written statements through
April 21, 1995.  Statements should be sent to the National Communications
Systems, 701 South Court House Road, Arlington, VA 22204 to the attention
of Mr. Mark Centra.  Position statements may also be submitted via fax to
(703)746-4960 or through E-mail to centram () cc ims disa mil.  Text sent
electronically should be in unencoded, unformatted, ASCII text.


The first of the two panels, "Experiences and Expectations," will be asked
to address questions such as the following:
  1) What are your expectations and needs regarding the availability
     of services and information on the NII?
  2) How does your organization plan to ensure that information and
     underlying systems are available to legitimate users?
  3) How should government support the reliability and availability
     of the NII?  What government policies or guidance would
     bolster you confidence in the NII?


The second panel will be called "Current State of Affairs and Future
Challenges," and will consist of communications providers of all types;
cable, wireless, satellite, Internet.  This panel will address the
following questions:
  1) What are the security risks faced by industry providers of
     communications services today?  As networks evolve from a
     closed status to a more open one, how will the
     interoperability of systems and the expansion of universal
     access affect availability and reliability?  How so you plan to
     address potential threats such as network disruptions and
     outages or degradation of services as new services are
     implemented?
  2) Do you feel that end-users are aware of the level of
     availability and reliability associated with various
     components of the NII?  What steps have you taken to educate or meet
     the expectations of the user in the areas of availability and
     reliability of the NII?
  3) How should government support availability and reliability in
     the NII?


For further information on the meeting or submitting a position statement
contact Mark Centra of National Communications System at (703) 607-6183 or
centram () cc ims disa mil.