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[infowar.de] US-Regierung plant Werbekampagne für Internet Security



Infowar.de, http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~bendrath/liste.html
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7600-2003Oct23.html

U.S. Gov't Plans Internet Security Ads

By Brian Krebs
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Thursday, October 23, 2003

Consumers who ignore advice about how to protect themselves against 
hackers, viruses and fraudsters online will soon find it harder to 
tune out thanks to a nationwide media blitz being crafted by the 
Department of Homeland Security and a group of high-tech companies.

The advertising campaign is designed to educate home and small 
business computer users about the importance of using firewalls and 
anti-virus software, as well as defending against online fraud. It is 
expected to debut next year on television and radio spots and in 
magazines, newspapers and movie theaters throughout the country.

The $1.8 million program is the brainchild of officials at the 
Homeland Security Department and the National Cyber Security Alliance, 
a group of more than 50 technology companies including America Online, 
Apple, Cisco, Microsoft, and Symantec Corp. The group plans to begin 
producing the campaign next year with the help of celebrities and 
prominent spokespeople.

The ads will hammer home a message that so far has eluded many 
computer users, said Tatiana Gau, chief trust officer at AOL. The 
alliance in a June study found that roughly 67 percent of high-speed 
Internet users do not use firewalls. More than 60 percent of those 
surveyed said they did not keep their anti-virus software updated 
against the most current viruses and worms.

"This is about getting into the home of the consumer so that they 
can't turn a blind eye to this message anymore," she said.

The campaign is producing the messages with the aid of the Ad Council, 
which uses $60 million a year in donated advertising space to conduct 
public service campaigns.

So far, the alliance has raised more than $500,000. It announced today 
that the Homeland Security Department will match contributions up to 
$650,000. The matching funds will come from the department's 2004 
budget.

Orson Swindle, a Republican commissioner on the Federal Trade 
Commission, said the large number of people affected by online fraud 
and the recent spate of viruses and worms show just how much education 
needs to be done.

"It's going to take a lot of repetition to get this message across," 
Swindle said. "We've got to keep hitting them so that we capture their 
attention at some time."

The consumer education campaign is a key pillar of the Bush 
administration's cybersecurity strategy, a document released in 
February that favors industry-government initiatives over federal 
regulation as the best way to shield businesses and consumers from 
cyber threats.

Mike Jacobs, former deputy director for information systems security 
at the National Security Agency, said the program should help the 
Homeland Security Department blunt criticism that its plan would do 
little to protect the individual Web users from hackers and viruses.

"The best the department can do is keep consumers reasonably well 
informed about threats and risks, both online and offline, and DHS 
would be in a position to command attention simply because of where 
they sit and what their perceived role is," Jacobs said.

The ads will steer consumers to the alliance's Web site which hosts a 
variety of resources to help consumers protect themselves online.

Richard Clarke, the White House's former cybersecurity adviser, 
applauded the effort, saying more people need to understand that poor 
security affects everyone because hackers frequently take control over 
poorly secured computers to launch attacks against other systems.

"Too many people have DSL and cable connections who don't have 
firewalls installed or don't have current anti-virus because they 
thought it came with the computer," Clarke said. "These people are 
putting everyone at risk."

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