Most IT managers know really safe computing is tough to pull off. And they probably understand that absolute security is absolutely impossible.

It’s also pretty certain that most IT pros caution users to only visit legitimate Web sites.
But they’ll have to come up with something better soon.

That’s because distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate sites is now almost meaningless. Security pros say 70% of the top 100 Web sites either hosted malicious content or had a link to redirect visitors to a malicious Web site during the second half of 2008.

Fasten your seat belts out there. It’s gonna get hairy.

One bright note on the horizon: President Obama’s already tackling cyber security, just a few weeks after his inauguration.

The review of federal cyber security activities ordered by President Obama is said to be an important step toward better protecting federal computer networks, say many lawmakers and observers outside government.

The White House on Monday confirmed a Nextgov.com report that Melissa Hathaway, who has served as cyber coordination executive at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, will lead a 60-day inter-agency assessment of cyber security plans, programs and activities.

Hathaway’s going to be acting senior director for cyberspace for the National Security and Homeland Security councils during the review period, Obama announced.

Many are speculating that Hathaway will be named “cyber czar” after the review’s completed. Obama didn’t tip his hand during Monday’s announcement.

“It’s a good start, and Hathaway is the right person to lead this,”  Jim Lewis, director of the technology and public policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Nextgov.  “A new strategic framework is exactly what we need. But the review needs to lead to real action and a new approach if we want to get anywhere in improving cyber security.”

The news of Hathaways’ appointment came just days after well-publicized reports of how antiquated the incoming White House staff found their computer setups were.

For a group of people whose tech savvy helped bring Obama out of obscurity and into the most powerful office in the world, it’s said that current White House technology is akin to living in the Stone Age.

Tags: computers, cyber security, obama, technology, Web sites