Tom Noonan, chief executive officer for Internet Security Systems, told the gathering Tuesday that logging onto the Internet is like entering a dangerous neighborhood. Risks include identity fraud and intellectual property and credit card theft.

"This is the first national security threat the government can't handle alone," said Noonan, one of five panelists in the meeting on the national strategy to secure the online infrastructure.

The meeting was the fourth in a series of nationwide meetings hosted by the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, formed in October to address web-related vulnerabilities within the federal government and the private sector. More than 25 national security officials are on the board.

[ Read more ]