U.S. using 'latest tools' for cybersecurity: Napolitano

WASHINGTON — US officials are deploying "the latest tools" to keep cyberspace safe for commerce and protect the US information infrastructure, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

Napolitano, speaking at the National Press Club, emphasized that homeland security and US economic security "go hand in hand."

"Cyberspace is an increasingly busy area for all of us," said Napolitano in her annual speech on the state of US homeland security.

In today?s "high-tech security and commercial environments, we must also focus beyond just the physical movement of goods and people across our borders."

Homeland Security officials aim to create "a secure environment for the flow of cyber commerce" and help support "a secure marketplace for the exchange of goods and ideas," she said.

"We are deploying the latest tools across the federal government to protect critical systems," while also sharing security information with the private sector "to help them protect their own operations," Napolitano said.

Homeland Security experts are also working to protect "the systems and networks that support the financial services industry, the electric power industry, and the telecommunications industry."

In 2011, the office's Computer Emergency Readiness Team "responded to more than 100,000 incident reports, and released more than 5,000 actionable cybersecurity alerts to our federal, state, and private sector partners."

US officials are also sharing information with foreign security officials "to combat electronic crimes such as identity and intellectual property theft, network intrusions, and a range of financial crimes."

According to Napolitano, the US Secret Service last year prevented $5.6 billion in potential losses through financial crime investigations and $1.5 billion through cyber crime investigations.