A White House panel said Wednesday that the nation should deal with potential threats to computer security by educating users and by letting market forces -- not government mandates -- fix problems. The recommendations, released at Stanford University, range from . . .
A White House panel said Wednesday that the nation should deal with potential threats to computer security by educating users and by letting market forces -- not government mandates -- fix problems. The recommendations, released at Stanford University, range from urging users to set tougher passwords to establishing industry centers where companies can share and resolve their vulnerabilities anonymously.

Critics say voluntary cooperation and market pressures will hardly have the effect of laws and regulations.

"All of these are good recommendations," said Mark Rasch, formerly the Justice Department's top computer crimes prosecutor. "But none have the force of law. There is no carrot and there is no stick. You need to put some teeth into some of the proposals."

The proposed National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace is not final. During the weekend, the White House panel decided to open it up for more comment before presenting it to President Bush in two months. A leaked copy of the plan was published on the Internet on Tuesday.

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