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Most Americans Support an Internet Kill Switch

Posted by samzenpus on from the please-take-my-freedoms-I-don't-deserve-them dept.

Orome1 writes "Sixty-one percent of Americans said the President should have the ability to shut down portions of the Internet in the event of a coordinated malicious cyber attack, according to research by Unisys. The survey found that while Americans are taking proactive steps to protect themselves against cybercrime and identity theft, only slightly more than a third of Internet users in the US regularly use and update passwords on their mobile devices – creating a potentially huge security hole for organizations as more consumer devices invade the workplace. The findings illustrate that recent events such as the Stuxnet computer worm attack and the attempted Times Square car bombing may have heightened the American public's awareness of and concern over global and domestic cybersecurity threats."

10 of 398 comments (clear)

  1. Most Americans by countertrolling · · Score: 5, Insightful

    should be more careful what they wish for

    --
    For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
    1. Re:Most Americans by chemicaldave · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Most Americans' understanding of the Internet is likely limited to email, social networking, and Youtube. They probably hold a poor grasp of how the Internet works. Furthermore, the definition and scope of an "Internet kill switch" are unclear.

      I'm actually surprised at how low the poll results are.

  2. In some ways... by nebaz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm glad that the US isn't a direct democracy.

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    Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
    1. Re:In some ways... by commodore64_love · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A Democracy allows you to execute a man with a simple majority vote. No need to prove guilt. It's a tyranny. It's what happened to Socrates.

      Rule by Law, like our Constitution, is preferable.
      Now we just need to enforce it rather than ignore it.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  3. Internet is the fastest method for info to travel by rs1n · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A killswitch means we no longer get instantaneous information, either, should we have to use it. Cell phones don't necessarily reach all parts of the world. I'm not so sure I'm willing to give up being able to get news right as it happens just because of threat of cyberwar. People can unhook their own machines from the net -- that's fine. That's the last line of defense that anyone can implement for themselves. Just don't cut me off because you feel it protects you better.

  4. The constitutional republic was designed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...to protect us from democracy.

  5. Re:News: Most Americans. . . by clarkn0va · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Nay, but most Americans have no idea about computers, let alone computer security.

    This is not a question of computers or security so much as it is a question of the freedom of information, communication, expression and speech. Perhaps the propaganda machine has convinced the American public otherwise.

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    I am literally 3000 tokens away from the chaotic crossbow --Stephen
  6. Re:Users vs. Internet by ElectricTurtle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    More liberated and experimental? Friend, that's what it was. The internet is becoming more staid, regulated, etc. It's becoming more conservative as it becomes more mainstream. People who wouldn't have touched it a decade ago now use it every day, and that's changing the culture of the internet and the way all of society perceives it. However to boomers and older it's something that "we" can obviously do without, because they didn't need it when they were growing up, so who cares? It's just a toy to them. They may casually participate in it, but they cannot (broadly and generally) understand its real importance to contemporary and future society.

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    I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
  7. Poor reporting by demonbug · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When are reporters going to learn that they need to include the actual wording of the question posed in the poll for people to actually understand what was asked? From what little information is in the article, there is a wide gamut of ways the question might have been posed that would affect the outcome. Why, oh why, can't they learn to include the actual question in addition to their canned analysis of the results? 100% of Americans think that the linked article is useless (plus or minus 99.99997%).

  8. Re:News: Most Americans. . . by Quirkz · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Propaganda machine? Most people don't know what this is about, outside of the poll. If the question is anything like a typical poll, it'll be like: "If part of the internet has a problem, should the President have the authority to stop it?" Of course 61% of the population will say yes to something stupid like that. Possibly 3% said no because they actually know enough to understand the issue. The other 36% said no because they're of the opposite political party from the current president, and are thinking about what powers they want Obama to have, rather than what powers they'd want a generalized American president to have.

    (and that's not picking on Republicans; the numbers would be the same the other way around, I'm sure.)

    --
    The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay