Chief Executives Criticize the Tech Industry
The companies bearing the cost of insecure technologies are finally stepping up to the table… the Business Roundtable.
The complaints by the Business Roundtable, a trade group for executives of 150 of America’s largest corporations, reflect exasperation by companies over the expense and hassle of keeping their computer networks safe for consumers. The group cites estimates from the nation’s banks and savings institutions that attacks by viruses and worms cost that industry more than $1 billion a year.
In its campaign starting Wednesday, the Business Roundtable urges technology companies to improve software design, make software products easier to manage and continue to offer support for products after updated versions are on the market. The group also acknowledges that executives and corporate directors should be involved in making companies’ networks more secure.
‘Up until now, the IT suppliers have deflected criticism and redirected criticism to end users,’ said Marian Hopkins, director of the group’s security task force. ‘It’s time that IT suppliers and manufacturers stepped up to the plate.’
A former White House official responsible for cybersecurity, Paul Kurtz, noted the significance of the Business Roundtable, whose members include traditional manufacturers, pressing for better security. Most previous such proposals have involved leading technology firms; the Roundtable’s members include Coca-Cola, Alcoa, Boeing, Burlington Northern, Deere and General Motors.
‘These are Rust Belt companies. Now you have traditional industry saying this is important,’ said Kurtz, now head of the Washington-based Cyber Security Industry Alliance. He said Internet security ‘requires good products from suppliers and good maintenance on the part of the users.’