Good information security policy requires addressing a myriad of complicated, inter-related issues, while still adhering to the Hippocratic principle of "First, Do No Harm." Rather than new regulation, one approach is to bring those that understand the issues and have a stake in the game together to find common ground. This talk will present the US Department of Commerce's new initiative on vulnerability research disclosure, and explain the multistakeholder process that builds on community experience to build trust between security researchers and software and system vendors. The goals are to identify and promote common principles and best practices that all parties agree will promote We'll translate DC buzzwords, and ask for your feedback on how we can make this process better.
Dr. Allan Friedman is the Director of Cybersecurity Initiatives at National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the US Department of Commerce. Prior to joining the Federal government, Friedman was a noted infosec and technology policy researcher at a range of institutions, including George Washington University, the Brookings Institution, and Harvard University. Wearing the hats of both a technologist and a policy scholar, his work spans computer science, public policy and the social sciences, and has addressed a wide range of policy issues, from cryptography to telecommunications. Friedman has over a decade of experience in security research, with a particular focus on economic, market, and trade issues. He is the coauthor of Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2014). Friedman has a Computer Science degree from Swarthmore College, a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University, and has made his peace with the word "cybersecurity.