Posted on 08/28/2009 8:13:33 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.
They're not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.
The new version would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for "cybersecurity professionals," and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.
"I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. "It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill."
Representatives of other large Internet and telecommunications companies expressed concerns about the bill in a teleconference with Rockefeller's aides this week, but were not immediately available for interviews on Thursday.
A spokesman for Rockefeller also declined to comment on the record Thursday, saying that many people were unavailable because of the summer recess. A Senate source familiar with the bill compared the president's power to take control of portions of the Internet to what President Bush did when grounding all aircraft on Sept. 11, 2001. The source said that one primary concern was the electrical grid, and what would happen if it were attacked from a broadband connection.
When Rockefeller, the chairman of the Senate Commerce committee, and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced the original bill in April, they claimed it was vital to protect national cybersecurity. "We must protect our critical infrastructure at all costs--from our water to our electricity, to banking, traffic lights and electronic health records," Rockefeller said.
The Rockefeller proposal plays out against a broader concern in Washington, D.C., about the government's role in cybersecurity. In May, President Obama acknowledged that the government is "not as prepared" as it should be to respond to disruptions and announced that a new cybersecurity coordinator position would be created inside the White House staff. Three months later, that post remains empty, one top cybersecurity aide has quit, and some wags have begun to wonder why a government that receives failing marks on cybersecurity should be trusted to instruct the private sector what to do.
Rockefeller's revised legislation seeks to reshuffle the way the federal government addresses the topic. It requires a "cybersecurity workforce plan" from every federal agency, a "dashboard" pilot project, measurements of hiring effectiveness, and the implementation of a "comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy" in six months--even though its mandatory legal review will take a year to complete.
The privacy implications of sweeping changes implemented before the legal review is finished worry Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. "As soon as you're saying that the federal government is going to be exercising this kind of power over private networks, it's going to be a really big issue," he says.
Probably the most controversial language begins in Section 201, which permits the president to "direct the national response to the cyber threat" if necessary for "the national defense and security." The White House is supposed to engage in "periodic mapping" of private networks deemed to be critical, and those companies "shall share" requested information with the federal government. ("Cyber" is defined as anything having to do with the Internet, telecommunications, computers, or computer networks.)
"The language has changed but it doesn't contain any real additional limits," EFF's Tien says. "It simply switches the more direct and obvious language they had originally to the more ambiguous (version)...The designation of what is a critical infrastructure system or network as far as I can tell has no specific process. There's no provision for any administrative process or review. That's where the problems seem to start. And then you have the amorphous powers that go along with it."
Translation: If your company is deemed "critical," a new set of regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over your computers or network.
The Internet Security Alliance's Clinton adds that his group is "supportive of increased federal involvement to enhance cyber security, but we believe that the wrong approach, as embodied in this bill as introduced, will be counterproductive both from an national economic and national secuity perspective."
“They want to get this done because the window is probably 2 years.”
I am praying health care has thrown a wrench into their timeline. They needed to pass that motha before the break to keep their “robust” agenda on track.
I’m hearing through the grapevine that we have another housing bubble ready to burst, also credit and business defaults.
Frightening times.
The only way to stop this madness is to get any democrats with a shred of integrity left to come on board and fight against the take-over of our government by these commies. Where have all the Zell Millers gone?
You do use a computer...it’s just a specialized computer.
Rockefeller clearly has no idea what 4chan is.
Here’s in interesting portion of the bill:
The Director of the National Science Foundation shall give priority to computer and information science and engineering research to ensure substantial support is provided to meet the following challenges in cybersecurity:
..
(6) How to determine the origin of a message transmitted over the Internet. (page 24)
Obama wants to be able to track his enemies. Here’s another interesting section:
FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary of Commerce—
(1) shall have access to all relevant data concerning such networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access; (Page 39)
Search warrants not required. It’s a short bill, read it at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s773is.txt.pdf
Yup. Take down a couple dozen primary nodes, and the rest of the web will turn into a traffic jam.
Methinks the designers thereof did not comprehend the total load the ‘net would have to handle; they assumed re-routed traffic would have sufficient network resources to get where it needed to go.
Imagine a major city’s freeways at rush hour - with a few well-placed total roadblocks. Oh, you’ll get home ... maybe tomorrow.
socialists need wealth to be destroyed. prosperity for anyone but the elite is bad for socialism
What have the thieves done with all the stimulus money that was supposed to jump start the economy? The American people were sold a bill of goods and need to continue speaking out at townhalls across the country.
Good luck with that...there are no sunspots....
So as well as another 400 years of global mini-ice age....we don't get long distant coms. ....no ionosphre to bounce off
You can't believe everything you read on the internet.
I remember the good old days when you could tell someone that having feathers in their butt didn't make them a chicken and people would just take yer word on it!
This was inevitable. The internet is being used effectively to expose The Marxist Onada and his band of commie thugs. They have to find a way to try and put a cork in it.
Personally, I don’t think he will be successful—either in the short or long term. Grass roots conservatives have now been blooded as far as organizing goes—what with the Tea Parties and the Onadacare Town Meetings. That genie is now out of the bottle.
Here we go people. Tyranny begins with controlling information and keeping people in the dark. They have much control over the news medai (though not yet total control). If they get this passed they will be able to control the formerly uncontrollable. This administration is taking to heart what they have learned with respect to the Iranian “revolution” and do not want a similar event here.
LOL! Peeps over at...err, uh..’Ebaums’ are having a hissy fit. ;-)
This one should be pinged and emailed to everyone we can think of IMHO! When it comes to handing over our cyberfreedom to the government in the name of security, I’d rather take my chances. Hey UN and Federal Government: Keep your filthy paws off the Internet!!!
It will be ineresting to see what happens if the question of the eligibilty of Barry Soetoro makes some progress. If that happens will the fascist takeover pause or will people like Rookefeller seek to accelarate the liberal fascist state?
HA!
Your WebTV _is_ a computer, just a cheapo specialized one.
Everything you post on FR & elsewhere is right there for the Gov to snatch up, analyze, and incriminate you on.
FR is a major opposition site; one snipped wire and it’s down - and a whole lotta FReepers have no way to contact each other for information or arrangements.
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