Extended Deadline! DOC Internet Policy Task Force Calls for Comments on Improving Cybersecurity While Sustaining Innovation

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) would like to inform all members and constituents that the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Internet Policy Task Force seeks public comments on measures to improve cybersecurity while sustaining innovation in the Internet economy. Stakeholders are encouraged to contact the DOC with their comments by the newly extended deadline of September 20, 2010.

Click here to see the related Federal Register notice.

The Department seeks comments from all stakeholders, including representatives of the commercial, academic, and civil society sectors, as part of its comprehensive review of the nexus between cybersecurity challenges in the commercial sector and innovation in the Internet economy. In particular, the DOC seeks information on the current public policy and operational challenges affecting cybersecurity, as those challenges may shape the future direction of the Internet and its commercial use in the U.S. and abroad.

"The importance of cybersecurity can be summed up in one word: confidence. That's what underpins everything we do on the Internet," said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at a July 27 public symposium on the issue. "We are now developing a policy framework for innovation, and working to strengthen the connective tissue of the Internet."

Comments can be submitted by mail to Diane Honeycutt, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8930, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Online submissions in electronic form may be sent to [email protected]. Comments will be posted at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/internetpolicytaskforce and http://csrc.nist.gov.

After analyzing comments received by the September 20 deadline, the Department intends to issue a report that will contribute to the Administration's domestic and international policies and activities in advancing both cybersecurity and the Internet economy.

The mission of the Internet Policy Task Force is to identify key public policy and operational challenges in the Internet environment. The Task Force leverages expertise across many bureaus at the DOC, including those responsible for domestic and international information and communications technology policy, international trade, cybersecurity standards and best practices, intellectual property, business advocacy, and export control.

This call for comments and the related symposium is part of a series of inquiries conducted by the Task Force; similar reviews of privacy and online copyright protection issues have taken place and one on the global free flow of information goods and services is forthcoming. The activities are publicized on the Task Force website.