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Homeland Security Adds Cybersecurity Position
Matimus writes "Information Week has a story about the new Cybersecurity position in the Department of Homeland Security. They have stated IT management is one of their six major concerns." From the article: "Homeland Security's decision to create an assistant secretary for cybersecurity and telecommunications is expected to be well received by Congress and IT advocates calling for better use of technology in securing the country's physical and virtual borders. In May, the House of Representatives passed a $34 billion budget for Homeland Security that called for elevating the nation's head cybersecurity official to assistant secretary status."
What are the qualifications?
Will this be any type of technical position, or will it be political?
It could be worse, it could be Monday.
Somehow I feel that the US government will not be happy until we have "secured our borders" until the government is entirely isolated.
Not the country mind you, just the government. I often seem to feel that the US government would be ALOT happier without citizens to get in the way too.
Just a boy doing unproffesional IT work that's way above his head.
I wonder how they plan to compete with commercial interests that are willing to pay top dollar for individuals suitable to the task. I can't imagine DHS would pay what a Bank of America or Walmart would .
Another puppet official to tell us we need the death penalty for hackers?
I wonder how much of the money will go towards research to blow "terrorists" computers up, then since the technology is already around, let's just finish off all the file sharers.
We would never in a million years read private, innocent citizens emails. Why on earth would you think we would even want to?
Oh Btw, your under arrest for sharing Peter Pan on Kaaza
"Homeland Security's decision to create an assistant secretary for cybersecurity and telecommunications is expected to be well received by Congress and IT advocates calling for better use of technology in securing the country's physical and virtual borders.
Why do people insist on seeing borders on the Internet? The word itself is composed of "inter" and "network". By applying the metaphor of "border" (either physical or (duck ... incoming cliche) "virtual") they're in essence calling the "internet" an "innerlan".
I hope the DHS can move beyond that limited and sophmoric understanding and instead realize we have interests - not borders. There are no borders on the Internet (excusing the valiant if not wrong efforts of the Chineses).
What if DHS instead focused on our interests: a secure platform for business and government and an accessible platform for communication? What they do afterwards is debatable from now until way past the end of time, but I think their metaphors are so misguided they jeopardize later efforts.
In focusing on the concept of 'borders' on the Internet the leave the chute with shaky reasoning and risk all the problems always associated with a poor meta-understanding of their goals.
The Luddites were ahead of their time.
I'm a firm believer that the DHS has no place in its present state dealing with 'technology.' They clearly have their hands full with remarkably menial tasks.
Even so it is yet another powerless position that we as tax payers must foot the bill for, let the bloating continue!
Maybe now it'll be easier to stop all this rampant cyber-terrorism. Or maybe it'll just make it easier for government to snoop on us. Or maybe it'll just make it easier to get rid of those pesky pirates, yarr.
insert inflammatory anti-microsoft comment here
One of these days you'll be telling your grandchildren what it was like to have an internet be as free and open as the frontier once was (though obviously with perils of its own just like the frontier had). If the kids ask which you prefered, chaotic but free, or secure but controlled, what will you say?
Damnit. Now worms etc will become a matter of "national security" and they'll be able to prosecute the hell out of whoever crafts them.
but the purpose of the government is to meet the needs of said citizens.
But that's just not true! It's up to you, and to me, to meet our own needs. There are certain select things that are best met by using our taxes and working with an authority than can act on our behalf. National defense is probably the single most important and appropriate example of that. That our nation absolutely faces real threats - large and puny - from people taking advantage of our highly networked society means that it's totally appropriate for an agency like DHS to have a person in the role mentioned. There's no "mystique" involved, other than that which you manufacturer just by saying it exists (without mentioning what exactly about that person's role is contrary to our interests).
It is the fact that the government itself is corrupt to the point where they directly oppose the purpose of their own creation that puppets origate.
Do you mean that the form of government (a republic) is inherently corrupt? It's got plenty of rough spots, but it's less corrupt than any other form of government yet seen. And when we don't like the way it's run, or what it costs, or how it does or doesn't defend us, we just swap out the employees for another set. That's the exact and ongoing cure for corruption. Certainly you don't want people selling overnights in the Lincoln Bedroom for political contributions, or taking large sums of campaign money from Chinese interests through California monestaries, or mysteriously "finding" long-ago-suboeonaed law firm records on a table in the White House, or using the last hour or two of your administration to issue pardons to aggregious international money launderers with family members funding your personal library project, or not liking the way that an election turned out and picking just a few zip codes where you know you might find more votes and getting a state court to invent some new rules allowing you to pick and choose how you want them counted... you're right, corruption is definately an issue to watch for.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.