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New Legislation Would Federalize Cybersecurity
Hugh Pickens writes "Senators Jay Rockefeller and Olympia J. Snowe are pushing to dramatically escalate US defenses against cyberattacks, crafting proposals in Senate legislation that could be introduced as early as today, that would empower the government to set and enforce security standards for private industry for the first time. The legislation would broaden the focus of the government's cybersecurity efforts to include not only military networks but also private systems that control essentials such as electricity and water distribution. 'People say this is a military or intelligence concern, but it's a lot more than that,' says Rockefeller, a former intelligence committee chairman. 'It suddenly gets into the realm of traffic lights and rail networks and water and electricity.' The bill, containing many of the recommendations of the landmark study 'Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency' (PDF) by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, would create the Office of the National Cybersecurity Adviser, whose leader would report directly to the president and would coordinate defense efforts across government agencies. The legislation calls for the appointment of a White House cybersecurity 'czar' with unprecedented authority to shut down computer networks, including private ones, if a cyberattack is underway. It would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish 'measurable and auditable cybersecurity standards' that would apply to private companies as well as the government. The legislation also would require licensing and certification of cybersecurity professionals."
Seriously, did you even read the summary? Did the mods? Critical infrastructure will be audited. Small business owners don't run critical infrastructure. Home users aren't running critical infrastructure off their DSL-lines. You could argue using the slippery slope argument, but saying that the government shouldn't inspect critical infrastructure (power grid, telephone system, water supply) because in the future they might restrict home users illegal file-sharing is so disconnected from reality it's utterly scary.
Furthermore, regarding their competence. They're not all idiots. Alot of governmental work is setup in ways that doesn't exactly promote talent, but they're still not raging retards. There are plenty of people that are fully aware that the wast majority of infrastructure doesn't run Windows. Hell, a lot of these systems were created long before DOS existed.
However, you are correct in that there will probably be a couple of silly results.. like a non-networked Win98 pc being audited. This could be a good thing though, because the 'if it works, don't touch it' mentality that often happens in real life quote often isn't a good long-term strategy.
As an aside, as a foreigner (just to ensure I don't get modded up), I'm absolutely flabbergasted that the wast majority of "omfg the government is scary"-americans seem to be republicans. The republicans are the ones who illegally wiretapped you. They're the ones who threw away habeas corpus. They're the ones who allowed torture and imprisoned foreigners for years without any sort of trial or oversight. I just honestly cannot believe they still got 45.66% of the vote. That is just utterly insane. New leader sure, but same party. Are you all daft?
"" How about taking the safety labels off everything, and let the stupidity-problem solve itself? """