CSIS
1800 K St., NW
Washington, DC 20006
ph:
202.887.0200
fax: 202.775.3199
JUNE 15, 2000 TECHNOLOGY EXPORT CONTROLS
CSIS Commission to Outline New Technology Security
Strategy
Contact: Mark Schoeff Jr. 202-775-3242-3183, Jeff Lewis (202) 775-3183
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2000 - CSIS today announced the formation of a blue-ribbon commission that will recommend ways to reform U.S. information technology (IT) export control policy. The CSIS Commission on Technology Security in the 21st Century will
- explore the implications of global electronic networks for national security,
- identify appropriate new technology security elements of a national security strategy,
- reassess the role of IT-related export controls in the national security strategy; and
- recommend reform to export controls to meet the realities of the information age.
Members of Congress, former cabinet-level national security officials, former senior military officers, information technology industry leaders, and policy experts will participate on the panel.
"The introduction of new means of communication and information management pose far-reaching implications for technology security," said CSIS president John Hamre. "The natural instinct is to revert to familiar patterns of security and protection, though the information technology revolution could well have permanently altered the landscape. We may have to invent new approaches to technology security in the cyber age."
The co-chairs of the commission are Adm. William Owens, cochief executive officer and vice chairman of Teledesic LLC and former vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff; Joseph Nye, dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; James R. Schlesinger, former secretary of the defense and energy departments and former director of the CIA; and R. James Woolsey, former CIA director. Other members include Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Representatives Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Adam Smith (D-Wash), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel, and Irving Wladawsky Berger, vice president of IBM, are among the private sector participants on the commission. The commission's first report will focus on revisions to the current IT export control policy. CSIS will complete the initial report in time to target the transition team of the new presidential administration.
"The United States faces a number of new export control issues and important security challenges posed by the rapid innovation occurring in information technology. Although the economic impact of IT is the subject of continuing analysis and investigation, the national security implications have not received commensurate attention," said Daniel Gouré, deputy director of the CSIS International Security Program and commission director. "Within the CSIS Commission on Technology Security in the 21st Century, the public and private sectors can work together to develop a policy approach that protects America's security and promotes its economy."