Skip to Navigation

SIIA & Other Industry Groups Gather at the White House to Pledge Leadership Role in Stopping Botnets

Attention: open in a new window. PDFPrintE-mail

For Immediate Release
SIIA Contact: Laura Greenback, Communications Manager, 410-533-1943, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
PR Contact: Beth Dozier, Rational 360, 202-429-1833, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SIIA & Other Industry Groups Gather at the White House to Pledge Leadership Role in Stopping Botnets
SIIA Members at Forefront of Fight Against Botnets & Other Internet Security Threats

Washington, DC (May 30, 2012)
-- At a White House event today, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) expressed a commitment to working with the Administration to address the growing dangers posed by botnets. SIIA is part of a multi-industry group that today announced its Principles for Voluntary Efforts to Reduce the Impact of Botnets in Cyberspace. SIIA President Ken Wasch and representatives of other industry groups were joined by Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, other administration officials and industry leaders including Michael DeCeasare CEO of McAfee.

As the leading organization representing software and digital media companies, SIIA and its members are at the forefront of the fight against botnets and other forms of Internet security threats. For example, McAfee provides a suite of tools for consumers and businesses to keep their systems free of infections and to remove malware and botnets from their infected systems. And Google recently launched a notification effort for users of computers and routers infected with the DNSChanger malware.

“SIIA is committed to addressing botnet security threats by working collaboratively with the government and by promoting the work of our members,” said Wasch. “It is vital that industry and government work together to ensure that public policy encourages private sector innovation and flexibility. After all, it is the products and tools produced by companies such as McAfee and Google that are empowering consumers and businesses to fight Internet security threats.”

SIIA is part of the Industry Botnet Group (“IBG”), which was formed earlier this year to collaborate on and encourage voluntary efforts to reduce the effectiveness of botnets. Botnets infect computers, threatening the trust and confidence of online users and undermining the efficiencies and economic growth spurred by the Internet. The IBG’s principles call on Internet participants to coordinate and communicate with each other and voluntarily work to fight the effectiveness of botnets across the botnet lifecycle. More information is available at www.industrybotnetgroup.org.

About SIIA
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to more than 500 leading software and information companies. The SIIA Software Division provides a forum for companies developing the applications, services, infrastructure and tools that are driving the software and services industry forward. For further information, visit www.siia.net/software