Notice of Public Meeting; National Information Infrastructure OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

SUMMARY: The Clinton Administration has announced two public meetings

to continue a dialogue between government and the private and public

interest sectors on issues related to the security of information on

the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Interested parties--

especially those representing subjects, users, or creators of health,

education, financial, or insurance information networks--are invited to

submit a 1-2 page position statement and request to testify.

The meetings are sponsored by the NII Security Issues Forum of the

Information Infrastructure Task Force and Mega-Project III of the U.S.

Advisory Council on the NII.

DATES: The public meeting, ``Security for Financial and Insurance

Information in the NII,'' will be held Wednesday, December 7, 1994,

from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The public meeting, ``Security for

Education and Health Information in the NII,'' will be held Thursday,

December 8, 1994, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Those wishing to testify should submit a 1-2 page position

statement and request to participate by Wednesday, November 30, 1994.

Written comments preferably should be submitted in ASCII format and

will be accepted until January 20, 1995. Individuals wishing to offer

general comments or present questions may request to do so during the

meeting.

addresses: The December 7 meeting will be held at the Commerce

Department Auditorium at 14th and Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington,

D.C. The December 8 meeting will be held at 1849 C Street N.W.,

Department of Interior Room 5160, Washington, D.C.

Position statements and requests to appear for the meeting,

``Security for Financial and Insurance Information in the NII,'' should

be sent to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, marked to the

attention of Ms. Carmen Sullivan, at 3501 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA

22226-3500. Position statements may also be submitted via fax to (703)

516-5441 or through electronic mail to ``[email protected]''.

Electronic mail should be submitted as unencoded, unformatted, ASCII

text.

Position statements and requests to appear for the meeting,

``Security for Health and Education Information in the NII,'' should be

sent to the Department of Health and Human Services, marked to the

attention of Sam Shekar, M.D., at Room 310G, HHH Building, 200

Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201. Position statements

may also be submitted to Dr. Shekar vai fax to (202) 690-6262. They may

also be submitted through electronic mail to ``Alex--

[email protected]''. Electronic mail should be submitted as unencoded,

unformatted, ASCII text.

Parties offering testimony are asked to provide them on paper, and

where possible, in machine-readable format. Machine-readable

submissions may be provided through electronic mail messages sent over

the Internet, or on a 3.5'' floppy disk formatted for use in an MS-DOS

based computer. Machine-readable submissions should be provided as

unencoded, unformatted ASCII text.

Written comments should include the following information:

Name and organizational affiliation, if any, of the

individual responding;

An indication of whether comments offered represent views

of the respondent's organization or are the respondent's personal

views; and

If applicable, information on the respondent's

organization, including the type of organization (e.g., trade

association, private corporation, non-profit organization) and general

areas of interest.

for further information contact: For further information relating to

finance information issues, contact Ms. Carmen Sullivan, Director of

Information Resources Management at the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation, by telephone at (703) 516-5414. For further information

relating to insurance information issues, contact Mr. Ken Tucker of the

Federal Housing Administration by telephone at (202) 708-4758.

For further information relating to health information issues,

contact Sam Shekar, M.D., at the Department of Health and Human

Services, by telephone at (202) 690-5727. For further information

relating to education information issues, contact by Mr. Alex Poliakoff

at the Department of Education by telephone at (202) 708-5210.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Issues for Public Comment

A. Background

The public meetings are part of an ongoing dialogue with the

Administration to assess the security needs and concerns of users of

the National Information Infrastructure (NII). The NII is a system of

high-speed telecommunications networks, databases, and advanced

computer systems that will make electronic information--such as

insurance and financial products, health and educational records, and

communication of both a commercial and non-commercial nature--more

widely available and accessible than ever before. This increased

availability and accessibility will dramatically affect the way in

which information and information services are created, used, and

delivered throughout the world.

Consequently, broad public and commercial use of the NII hinges

upon implementing technologies, policies, and practices that not only

ensure that users of information systems have access to information

when and where they need it, but that subjects of information records

are able to protect themselves from unauthorized or inappropriate use

of information.

``Americans will not use the NII to its full potential unless they

trust that information will go where and when they want it and nowhere

else,'' declared Sally Katzen, Administrator of the Office of

Information Regulatory Affairs at OMB and chair of the Forum. ``The

Federal government is a primary user of the NII and thus a catalyst for

change. Yet the NII will be designed, built, owned, operated, and used

primarily by the private sector, making it essential that security on

the NII be considered in partnership with the public.''

To address these critical issues, the Vice President formed the

Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF). The IITF is chaired by

Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and is comprised of senior

Administration officials having expertise in technical, legal, and

policy areas pertinent to the NII. The mission of the IITF is to

articulate and implement the Administration's vision for the NII.

The NII Security Issues Forum was established within the IITF to

address the cross-cutting issue of security in the NII. The Forum is

chaired by Sally Katzen, Administrator of the Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget.

In addition to the IITF, the President has established the U.S.

Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure. The

Advisory Council represents industry, labor, and public interest

groups, and advises the Secretary of Commerce on issues relating to the

NII. Mega-Project III, one of three work groups of the Advisory

Council, is responsible for addressing security, intellectual property,

and privacy issues as they relate to the NII.

B. Structure and Content of Public Meeting

Security is linked inextricably to broad public use of the NII. The

technologies, policies, and procedures used to ensure the

confidentiality, availability, and integrity of digitally produced and

transmitted information, information products, and services on the NII

will determine whether, how, and to what extent digitally linked

information services will be broadly used in such critical sectors as

health, education, finance, and insurance.

Development of policies and procedures that will ensure the

security of commercial and non-commercial information and

communications on the NII requires study from different perspectives,

whether that of the subject of the information, the user of the

information, or the creator of the information. The Forum and Mega-

Project III seek input from parties who represent these views in the

areas of health, education, finance, and insurance.

Solutions to these concerns will come vita technical solutions, as

well as legal and policy mechanisms. The Forum and Mega-Project III

seek input in this area as well. Specifically, what legal measures,

policy mechanisms, and technological solutions, or combinations

thereof, can be used to effectively protect the security of health,

education, financial, and insurance information delivered or made

accessible on the NII?

A panel of witnesses drawn from the public will be assembled to

discuss the following topics with a panel of senior Administration

officials, members of the Security Issues Forum, and members of the

Advisory Council, and to field questions and comments from other

members of the public.

Position statements for the meeting, ``Security for Financial and

Insurance Information in the NII,'' should address four principal

questions:

1. How do you envision the NII being used by the finance and

insurance industries to provide enhanced products and services to

customers or to improve operations?

Specifically, what types of products and services are you

contemplating delivering or making available, or would you like to see

delivered or made available on the NII?

2. What threats do you foresee in making products and services

available via the NII? Such threats might include fraud, unauthorized

access, breach of confidentiality or privacy, breach of integrity, and

lack of reliability.

3. What legal, policy, and ethical issues do you foresee affecting

usage of the NII? Such issues may include liability, information/

property rights, equal access, document/records management, legal

admissibility/evidentiary requirements, and auditability.

4. What kinds of administrative or technical solutions are you

aware of, or would you like to see developed, to address security,

legal, and ethical concerns? Such solutions may include international

agreements, criminal laws, public key encryption, and digital

signatures.

Position statements for the meeting, ``Security for Health and

Education Information in the NII,'' should address five principal

questions:

1. What enhancements in electronic data transmission, storage, and

retrieval are needed to protect the confidentiality of personal health

and education information?

2. What enhancements in electronic data transmission, storage, and

retrieval are needed to improve data users' access to individual health

and education information?

3. How can the NII be constructed to address and satisfy both of

these needs simultaneously?

4. What safeguards need to be developed to limit children's access

to inappropriate material through the NII?

5. What technical solutions are available, or can be developed, in

order to address these data security concerns?

II. Guidelines for Participation in the Public Hearing

Individuals who would like to participate on a panel must request

an opportunity to do so no later than November 30, 1994 by submitting a

brief, 1-2 page summary position statement. If approved, each

participant will be allowed to present brief opening remarks. Primary

participating, however, shall be during the general discussion to

follow, according to the format described above.

Participants in the public meeting will testify before and

participate in discussions with a panel consisting of members of the

Advisory Council, members of the Security Issues Forum, and other

Administration officials.

Individuals not selected as panel participants may offer comments

or ask questions of the witnesses by requesting an opportunity to do so

and being recognized during the meeting by the chairs of the meetings.

Oral remarks offered in this fashion may not exceed three minutes. No

advance approval is required to attend the public meetings, offer

comments, or present questions.

The public meeting on ``Security of Financial and Insurance

Information in the NII'' will be co-chaired by Ms. Carmen Sullivan,

Director of Information Resources Management of the Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation, Ms. Marta Angueira, Controller of the Federal

Housing Administration, and Mr. Stephen Malphrus, Director of

Information Resources Management at the Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve Board.

The public meeting on ``Security of Health and Education

Information in the NII'' will be co-chaired by Dr. Helen Smits, Deputy

Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration, and Ms.

Linda Roberts, Special Advisor to the Secretary of Education for

Technology.

More information about the Clinton Administration's National

Information Infrastructure initiative can be obtained from the IITF

Secretariat. Inquiries may be directed to Yvette Barrett at (202) 482-

1835, by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to U.S. Department

of Commerce, IITF Secretariat, NTIA, Room 4892, Washington, D.C.,

20230.

For inquiries over the Internet to the IITF Gopher Server, gopher,

telnet (login=gopher), or anonymous ftp to iitf.doc.gov. Access is also

available over the World-Wide-Web. Questions may be addressed to

[email protected].

For access by modem, dial (202) 501-1920 and set modem

communication parameters at no parity, 8 data bits, and one stop

(N,8,1). Modem speeds of up to 14,400 baud are supported.

Sally Katzen,

Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

[FR Doc. 94-28820 Filed 11-21-94; 8:45 am]

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