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Exceptionally grave damage: NSA refuses to declassify Obama’s cybersecurity directive
Russia Today ^ | November 21, 2012

Posted on 11/20/2012 5:51:33 PM PST by Founding Father

The National Security Agency has shot down a Freedom of Information Act request for details about an elusive presidential order that may allow the government to deploy the military within the United States for the supposed sake of cybersecurity.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) reports on Tuesday that their recent FOIA request for information about a top-secret memo signed last month by US President Barack Obama has been rejected [PDF]. Now attorneys for EPIC say they plan to file an appeal to get to the bottom of Presidential Policy Directive 20.

Although the executive order has been on the books for a month now, only last week did details emerge about the order after the Washington Post reported that Pres. Obama’s signature to the top-secret directive could allow the White House to send in recruits from the Pentagon to protect America’s cyber-infrastructure.

Because Presidential Policy Directive 20 is classified, the exact wording of the elusive document has been a secret kept only by those with first-hand knowledge of the memo. For their November 14 article, the Post spoke with sources that saw the document to report that the directive “effectively enables the military to act more aggressively to thwart cyberattacks on the nation’s web of government and private computer networks.”

In response to the Post’s report, EPIC filed a FOIA request to find out if the policy directive could mean military deployment within the United States, especially since the sources who have seen the memo say it allows the Pentagon to pursue actions against adversaries within a vaguely described terrain known only as “cyberspace.” “What it does, really for the first time, is it explicitly talks about how we will use cyber-operations,” a senior administration official told the Post. “Network defense is what you’re doing inside your own networks. . . . Cyber-operations is stuff outside that space, and recognizing that you could be doing that for what might be called defensive purposes.”

“We’d like to see what the language says and see what power is given,” EPIC attorney Amie Stepanovich told RT this week — a matter that will now have to be appealed before any details can be determined. News of the directive comes just as lawmakers in Congress failed once again to approve a cybersecurity legislation that would provide new connections between the federal government and the private sector in order to supposedly ramp up the United States’ protection from foreign hackers. With the defeat of that bill, though, members of both the House and Senate now say they expect Pres. Obama to sign a separate executive order that will lay down the groundwork for a more thorough cybersecurity plan to be established.

Meanwhile, the commander-in-chief has already signed a secret order — Presidential Policy Directive 20 — that might remain classified unless EPIC can win in court. “We believe that the public hasn’t been able to involve themselves in the cybersecurity debate, and the reason they can’t involve themselves is because they don’t have the right amount of information,” Stepanovich tells RT. Responding to the FOIA request, the NSA says releasing information on the directive cannot occur because “disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.” “Because the document is currently and properly classified, it is exempt from disclosure,” the NSA writes.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: cybersecurity; epic; nationalsecurityfail; nsa; obama
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Your freedom further eroded.

Secession.

1 posted on 11/20/2012 5:51:42 PM PST by Founding Father
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To: Founding Father

It will be interesting to see how it takes Obama to set up a special internal security force. If he has not already done so.


2 posted on 11/20/2012 5:55:41 PM PST by txnativegop (Fed up with zealots)
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To: Founding Father

transparent government.... or not


3 posted on 11/20/2012 5:55:52 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: Founding Father

Free and fair elections? LOL

Transparent government? LOL

Hope for the future? LOL


4 posted on 11/20/2012 6:02:34 PM PST by wastedyears (I don't want to live on this planet anymore.)
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To: Founding Father

Someone should hack into a government computer and find out what Directive 20 is all about.


5 posted on 11/20/2012 6:04:48 PM PST by ClearCase_guy (Global Warming is a religion, and I don't want to be taxed to pay for a faith that is not mine.)
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To: wastedyears

we haven’t had transparent government for well over 100 years. it’s just getting less and less so.


6 posted on 11/20/2012 6:10:01 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (I can neither confirm or deny that; even if I could, I couldn't - it's classified.)
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To: Founding Father
“We’d like to see what the language says and see what power is given,”

I think that should say “what power was usurped.” Because to my knowledge there is no legislation empowering the President to send troops in to the interior of the nation to take control of private servers and networks.

For that matter I know of no Constitutional power granted to the Congress to pass such legislation.

The people of the United States need to reassert control of their government and start punishing those in government for their intrusions in to person liberty.

7 posted on 11/20/2012 6:15:30 PM PST by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: Founding Father

Is the source of this article to be believed?


8 posted on 11/20/2012 6:17:24 PM PST by miele man
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To: Founding Father

So, let me get this straight. obama signs an order giving himself the authority to order the people’s army to go up against the people.

And those who worship him will say “It’s for our own good” and “He won’t abuse it.”


9 posted on 11/20/2012 6:21:46 PM PST by Terry Mross (I haven't watched the news since the election. Someone ping me if anything big happens.)
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To: Terry Mross

If this true...it is a crock of... The “government” is out of control.


10 posted on 11/20/2012 6:26:05 PM PST by ogen hal (First amendment or reeducation camp?)
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To: Founding Father

Here’s a different article on this

http://thenextweb.com/us/2012/11/15/meet-presidential-policy-directive-20-the-united-states-new-cyberwar-policy/?_suid=135346554722508484515864402056&_suid=135346582478804262028660159558


11 posted on 11/20/2012 6:48:44 PM PST by Lurkina.n.Learnin (Superciliousness is the essence of Obama)
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To: Founding Father
Nice knowing you, fellow Freepers. Looks like Obama will now have the authorization to direct the military geeks to take down any site he deems an enemy of the state.

Your freedom further eroded. Secession.

They're pushing us closer and closer, every day. Close the internet to dissent on the right, and secession will become a foregone conclusion.

12 posted on 11/20/2012 7:07:10 PM PST by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: Windflier

We’re over the edge already. Just waiting on someone to take the first shot...


13 posted on 11/20/2012 7:14:46 PM PST by Dead Corpse (I will not comply.)
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To: Founding Father

Your freedom further eroded.
Secession>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Forming a Committee of safety for your County would be a good idea.

http://constitution.org/mil/cos/cos_setup.htm


14 posted on 11/20/2012 7:21:35 PM PST by Candor7 (Obama fascism article: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html)
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To: Windflier

After the election got stolen, I realized I need to re-read Bracken’s trilogy, since it’s gonna happen more or less as in his books (imho, ymmv etc).

I was hoping Romney would win, so as to buy us time to get more conservatives (aka “Constitutionalist”) people in Congress and also in State positions.

Alas, it did not happen. So IMHO it is now pedal to the metal destruction. The commie/black racist/islamic/pervert lovers are going to try their very hardest to destroy everything that is good about America, as fast as they can. And the R party is, other than a few worthy exceptions, a bunch of eunuchs or Dem fellow travelers.


15 posted on 11/20/2012 7:28:18 PM PST by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: Founding Father; butterdezillion; LucyT; All

PING!


16 posted on 11/20/2012 7:29:44 PM PST by Graewoulf ((Traitor John Roberts' Obama"care" violates Sherman Anti-Trust Law, AND the U.S. Constitution.))
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To: Founding Father

There’s precisely zero chance of ever FOIAing a newly-classified Top Secret document.


17 posted on 11/20/2012 7:38:40 PM PST by Strategerist
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To: Dead Corpse
We’re over the edge already. Just waiting on someone to take the first shot...

I've expressed that viewpoint frequently over the last several years. Most often, here on FR.

We're living in 'tinderbox' conditions. All it's going to take is the wrong kind of incident to trigger a much larger event. I can see some catalyst event causing several states to simultaneously secede from the union.

Worse, would be a spontaneous breakout of mass hostilities between left and right across the country. There's every chance that some event could trigger that, too.

Open hostilities of that type might even be triggered by a secession of red states. Liberal Dems living in those states would literally fly into a panic, and some would go 'postal'. That, of course, would likely trigger massive retaliation on the part of conservative/patriot/secessionists.

I tell you, we're really sitting on a knife's edge.

18 posted on 11/20/2012 7:43:53 PM PST by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: little jeremiah
IMHO it is now pedal to the metal destruction. The commie/black racist/islamic/pervert lovers are going to try their very hardest to destroy everything that is good about America, as fast as they can.

I think that goes without saying.

Look at how quiet the regime's been since election day. They've only made such statements as have been completely necessary, such as responses to the unfolding events in Israel. Other than that, and a few threats against Republicans for daring to question Sistah Susan Rice, they've been awfully quiet.

They're up to something. A whole lot of something - I guarantee it.

19 posted on 11/20/2012 7:49:08 PM PST by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: Dead Corpse
We’re over the edge already.

You're correct.

Just waiting on someone to take the first shot...

History shows that whoever fires the first shot normally loses. I just pray we're smart about these times.



20 posted on 11/20/2012 8:16:44 PM PST by rdb3 (We're all going to get what only some of us deserve...)
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