Privacy, tech limits vex U.S. net defense

WASHINGTON, July 3 (UPI) -- Technical limits and privacy concerns are plaguing the system designed to protect the U.S. government's computer network from cyberspies, officials said.

The latest version of the system -- called "Einstein" -- won't be installed completely for 18 months, seven years after the first iteration was first rolled out, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The system doesn't protect non-military networks from a cyber-attack -- it lets officials know when one occurred. The Pentagon has its own cybersecurity.

An Einstein version in development is capable of reading e-mails and other communications, raising privacy issues, officials said.

Department of Homeland Security officials say they are moving ahead at a deliberate pace. Since the program is the first of its kind, "we're trying to get things as right as possible," a senior Homeland Security official told the Journal.

President Barack Obama has made combating cyber-threats a top priority. His administration is re-examining plans for a third iteration of Einstein to review its privacy protections and effectiveness, said Paul Kurtz, a cybersecurity specialist who was a member of Obama's transition team.

"The good news is, I think (the administration) appears to be taking a close look at how best to do this," Kurtz told the Journal. "The bad news is, while they work to figure it out, the security of our networks is not necessarily getting any better."

Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said several rollouts of Einstein upgrades were "incremental improvements" designed to protect privacy and civil liberties, as well as the government's computer network.

"We don't want to let the perfect be the enemy of the good," she said.