In the same week that Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell warned Congress that terrorists are showing an increasing desire to use cyber attacks against the U.S., the Bush administration sent a proposed budget to federal lawmakers that calls for the government to spend one out of every 10 IT dollars on information security.

In total, the White House said that it will seek authorization for more than $71 billion in IT spending during fiscal 2009, which begins Oct. 1. That request represents a 3.8% increase, or $2.6 billion, over what Congress approved last year.

The budget proposal earmarks $7.3 billion for information security, just about 10 percent over what was budgeted for the current fiscal year. If approved as is, security spending would account for 10.3% of the entire federal IT budget.

The White House, in its budget analysis, said that if Congress accepts the fiscal 2009 figures as proposed, IT security spending will have increased 73% over the past five years. By comparison, the overall IT budget will have risen 20% during the same period.

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