The White House plans to release a series of draft recommendations urging consumers and companies to tighten up their computer security.
A draft version of a cybersecurity plan due to be released today will reveal how the US Government intends to improve net security problems.
The Bush administration had originally hoped to produce a formal set of guidelines but found itself mired in debate over how tough to be. Mr Richard Clarke, the president's top adviser on computer security, has said he will not seek legislation containing mandates if companies comply with his recommendations.
His challenge is winning industry support for meaningful proposals. "If we just come up with a government strategy without participation from the people who have to implement it, we're not going to get the level of commitment and buy-in that we need for this," Mr Clarke said.
The report has been compiled by Mr Clarke's staff over the past year based on comments from a spectrum of experts representing private industry, academia and the government.
It is a companion piece - the only one to be broken out in such a manner - to the national security plan released recently by Mr Tom Ridge's Office of Homeland Security.
The plan carries more than 80 recommendations, many of which center on improving communication to first prevent and then respond to cyberattacks, rather than fixing technical problems.
AFP