Slashdot Mirror
The FBI Wants To Know About Your IT Skills
AHuxley writes "The FBI, via the Office of Management and Budget, would like to find out more about your information technology expertise if you are part of InfraGard. Terms like 'practical utility' have been included in a 60-day emergency notice of information collection via the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Is your boss or cubicle colleague part of InfraGard? It's a private, non-profit organization run as a public-private partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Are they passing info back about you or your company?"
It seems aimed at big "IT Infrastructure" companies like ISPs, search engines and mail providers: a way to be in touch with these people in the event of "cyberterrorism" and systematic DOS/takeover attempts. It seems like a much better idea than waiting for something to happen and then have no idea who you're supposed to get in touch with about it. Knowing who to call in an emergency shouldn't have to be half the battle.
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
From the information provided, which is very little, it appears that the FBI is requesting information from people who have voluntarily joined an organization of IT professionals not just sponsored by but directly affiliated with the FBI. Why is this getting everyone's hackles up? It does not say that the information will be required of all members, nor does it say that members will be required to inform on their coworkers or companies. The ACM asks you about your IT skills, too. How is this different?