Patrick Ross

More on Internet Security Summit

I'm told the panel I moderated on "The Role of Industry" went well; it's always hard to know when you're on the stage. There was a nice give-and-take between Gartner analyst Avivah Litan, who believes more government action is needed to incent good behavior by corporations, and Emory U. Economics Professor Paul Rubin, who believes regulation actually introduces more costs into the system, and that the focus should be on the actual bad guys doing the hacking.

FTC Chairman Deborah Majoras made a great case for her agency being an enforcement agency, not a regulatory one (although they of course do have a regulatory role). Majoras, former antitrust chief, is really quite sharp. Also delightful was my colleague Orson Swindle, a former FTC commissioner, who brought his plain-spoken approach to the conference.

Watch for more on this topic from PFF in the future.

Internet Security Summit: First Thoughts

We just completed our all-day Internet Security Summit, which featured a lot of compelling speakers. I'm too tired to give all the details right now. Let me just say that after the conference, I have renewed respect for the intellect and good intentions of the Hill staff working on legislation in the area of data security, but my fears of unintended consequences from legislation have also increased.

Securing the Internet May 10

On May 10 The Progress & Freedom Foundation is hosting an all-day summit in Washington, D.C., titled "Securing the Internet" (see agenda). It's at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill (the triangle-shaped building on the Senate side), and features FTC Chairman Deborah Majoras. I'm moderating a panel at 2:30:

The Role of Industry: Does Investing in Security Pay?

Patrick Ross, Senior Fellow, The Progress & Freedom Foundation (Moderator)
Adam Golodner, Director of Global Security & Technology Policy, Cisco Systems
Avivah Litan, Vice President & Research Director, Gartner Research
Stuart Pratt, President and CEO, Consumer Data Industry Association
Paul Rubin, Professor , Department of Economics, Emory University
Frank Torres, Director of Consumer Affairs, Microsoft Corporation

Other panels are defining the issue, the role of consumers and the role of government. We have a reception after the event, so anyone with a brain clouded by data security debates can further cloud it with a blended scotch.

This is of course a critical issue, and one we've focused on increasingly at PFF since hiring Orson Swindle (former FTC commissioner) last year and Dan Caprio (former chief privacy officer for the US Commerce Department) last month. Orson and I co-wrote a paper on the subject earlier this year.