nCircle Sync Blog

Maybe it's in my nature to expect something more all the time. Melisa Hathaway's speech lasted maybe 20 minutes and could have been written during the prior administration last year. Any insight into what we can expect for goals from the 60-day review were completely glossed over.

The keynote began with a hokey spoof of the classic TV show Mission Impossible. A narrator with a deep voice gives, Ms Hathaway her mission to secure the nations cybersecurity infrastructure. The message concludes with a warning that her blackberries will self-destruct in 60 days, a weak nod to the technical audience.

Ms Hathaway's speech followed the typical script. She covered historical, current and real threats along with their outcomes. Whether it was the recollection of the movie WarGames or an attack on ATM machines that was years old , the content was a supposed to make the audience feel fear. These obvious tactics were old news for the technical and extremely knowledgeable audience.

When she finished dispensing fear we learned about the enormous effort of the 60-day review she is carrying out. Ms. Hathaway likened the ambitious goal to a marathon, not a sprint, and told us about the numerous organizations consulted. The 60-day review team is targeting private companies, federal, state and local governments as well as to other countries. No surprise here.

In what Ms Hathaway termed as a "trailer", we got a brief glimpse into her 60-day review findings. To no one's surprise the review calls for greater public discourse, private/public partnerships and a significant call to action for the audience sitting directly in front of her.

What we didn't get was any new information or new ideas and no specific course of action beyond what we all already understand to be necessary. It must be my fault for expecting something more. I'll work on pulling back on my expectations in the future.