This past spring, U.S. Senate bill was proposed that would give ultimate power to the White House to “disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.” You know, if they deemed it necessary and stuff.
Now, there’s a new, revised bill. Democrat Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia had his staffers draft S.773 all hush-hush, behind closed doors, and the now 55-page draft can actually be viewed (and doesn’t seem to be getting any rave reviews from the Internet Security Alliance, FYI).
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.
The Internet Security Alliance has some pretty hefty board members, including bigwigs from Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University – and they’re not getting on the bandwagon with the legislation yet, all because of its “vagueness.” (Wait – Democrats being vague? Nooooooooo.)
Now, I understand the legitimate threat of cyberattack and the need for cybersecurity. But it’s the vagueness and the “controversial language” of this bill that is a little, well, over-the-top from a Presidential power standpoint.
Apparently, beginning in Section 201, Obama will be able to “direct the national response to the cyber threat” if necessary for “the national defense and security.” And on top of that, The White House will do this “periodic mapping of private networks deemed to be critical” thing. Alrighty then. Aaaaand as a nice little dictatorial cherry on top, if Obama and his buddies so choose, the private sector companies will have to give up (I think they say “share” in the bill) information of the government’s choosing.
Out there in private-sector-cyber-land, they’re not so thrilled about this, as they believe it’s very “counterproductive.” They think that the new version is basically the old version, watered down and more “ambiguous.” In their minds, it’s void of specific processes from an administrative and review standpoint. Basically, it just gives Obama and pals sweeping power over private sector cyber-information. In their opinion, the vagueness translates to this:
“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.”
So, someone remind me again – we live in a free-market democracy still, right?
