nextgov reports in ‘Scientists view cybersecurity as an intimidating conundrum’ on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recent look at cybersecurity.

“The Internet’s extensive cybersecurity vulnerabilities are so hard to fix that information technology researchers sometimes avoid studying the topic like they were steering clear of the seamy underbelly of a great metropolitan city, top scientists said on Thursday.

Jeannette M. Wing, who served as assistant director of the computer and information science and engineering directorate at the National Science Foundation from 2007 until recently, was called in by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology to discuss specific areas in the networking and information technology sector that the federal government should be investing research and development funds in.

“I think cybersecurity . . . is the most difficult challenge. And it’s not just a societal and political challenge. It’s a technical challenge,” said Wing, who this summer returned to her post as head of the computer science department at Carnegie Mellon University. “Leadership needs to come from the top since no one sector of government, industry and academia can address this challenge alone.”

PCAST is an advisory group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers who directly advise the President on areas involving science, technology, and innovation. strengthening our economy and forming policy that works for the American people. PCAST is administered by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

You can see Dr. Wing testamony in this video.