Cyber security bill one step closer

Posted by James MacArthur to Technology on 05th July 2010 - 0 Comments

The cybersecurity bill called PCNAA, (or Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act) was approved by the senate committee on Friday 2nd July 2010.

So what is it? And what does it mean to you?

Essentially this bill gives the President of the United States of America the ability to turn off the internet. That's right turn OFF the internet. So no more facebook, no more Farmville (I'm liking this bit), no more emails,  no more Reddit, no more Digg, no more ANYTHING!

So hang on, why would we turn control of our most valuable information resource over to just one man? The answer is we wouldn't! It's not our choice. The U.S. has decided that it needs these additional powers in order to protect it's national security. So if the President deems that there is a major national threat from the Internet he can order all ISP's in the U.S. to shut down. Effectively closing 90% of the internet to not just the states but the world.

But what constitutes a major national threat? Would it be a hacker gaining access to the pentagon? Or would it be an unfavourable posting on one of the many forums, or blogs? I'm sure that the intentions are good, but absolute power corrupts and I'm convinced it would not be long before the states decide to use their new powers as a form of censorship.

(Taken from CBS4)

Any company on a list created by Homeland Security that also "relies on" the Internet, the telephone system, or any other component of the U.S. "information infrastructure" would be subject to command by a new National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications (NCCC) that would be created inside Homeland Security.

The only obvious limitation on the NCCC's emergency power is one paragraph in the Lieberman bill that appears to have grown out of the Bush-era flap over warrantless wiretapping. That limitation says that the NCCC cannot order broadband providers or other companies to "conduct surveillance" of Americans unless it's otherwise legally authorized.

The NCCC also would be granted the power to monitor the "security status" of private sector Web sites, broadband providers, and other Internet components. Lieberman's legislation requires the NCCC to provide "situational awareness of the security status" of the portions of the Internet that are inside the United States -- and also those portions in other countries that, if disrupted, could cause significant harm.

Selected private companies would be required to participate in "information sharing" with the Feds. They must "certify in writing to the director" of the NCCC whether they have "developed and implemented" federally approved security measures, which could be anything from encryption to physical security mechanisms, or programming techniques that have been "approved by the director." The NCCC director can "issue an order" in cases of noncompliance.

To sweeten the deal for industry groups, Lieberman has included a tantalizing offer absent from earlier drafts: immunity from civil lawsuits. If a software company's programming error costs customers billions, or a broadband provider intentionally cuts off its customers in response to a federal command, neither would be liable.

If there's an "incident related to a cyber vulnerability" after the president has declared an emergency and the affected company has followed federal standards, plaintiffs' lawyers cannot collect damages for economic harm. And if the harm is caused by an emergency order from the Feds, not only does the possibility of damages virtually disappear, but the U.S. Treasury will even pick up the private company's tab.

Initially, the bill would have given the president unlimited authority on how long he could control the Internet, but an amendment passed Friday says he would have to get the approval of Congress to shut down the Internet for more than 120 days.

I have highlighted the buzz words that I personally find worrying. To break it down any company on this 'list' who fails to comply can and will be fined, however, if they comply with all the new directives and because of these new implementations our livelihoods are put at risk. TOUGH! they are immune to ALL civil lawsuits.

And although they have added the ammendment to restrict how long the President can turn our lights out for, they have still left 120 days as the ceiling before he has to 'ask' permission to extend it.

Now, being that email has now surpassed fax and snail mail as the standard form of communication, and a huge proportion of our lives are governed by the internet including our banking, our shopping, our utilities and more, who out of any of us could survive without the internet for 4 months?

Worst case scenario means 4 months of no pay, 4 months of no electric, water, gas (As we have been unable to pay our bills), 4 months of no communications!

Hell, I get the jitters if I am away from my PC for more than a day! So I suggest we watch this bill VERY carefully, we must not give over control of information to one man, one country or to anyone.

Benjamin Franklin once write 'They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.'

And it is never more true than right now!