Obama Signs Cybersecurity Executive Order

An anonymous reader writes "Last night before the State of the Union speech, President Obama signed an executive order for improving cybersecurity of critical infrastructure (PDF). The highlights of the order are: 'information sharing programs' for the government to provide threat reports to industry; an overarching cybersecurity framework developed by NIST to figure out best practices for securing critical infrastructure; and reviews of existing regulations to make sure they're effective. The ACLU supports the Order, as does the EFF. '"A lot of what this shows is that the president can do a lot without cybersecurity legislation," said Mark Jaycox, policy analyst and legislative assistant for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who points out that the executive order satisfies the need for information sharing without the privacy problems that existed under legislative proposals where loopholes would have allowed companies to dump large amounts of data on the government in an effort to obtain legal immunities. Without those immunities, companies will by nature be more circumspect about what they provide the government, thus limiting what they hand over, Jaycox said.'"

Comments

Here's a start...

[ackthpt]

Stop putting every computer on the same network. Stop using Windows for everything.

Re:Here's a start...

[Anonymous Coward]

The US government already has several separate secure networks, and utilizes non-Windows OSes where appropriate.

Do you want the gubbermint telling you how to run *your* networks and computers? I'm sure that NSA patch is really just a clever way to let them spy on you.

Seriously, that's not a start, that's just a silly aside with no meaning.

Cybersecurity Executive Order

[K. S. Kyosuke]

That's too long, I propose to abbreviate it to CyberSEx Order, it's less of a mouthful.

Checks and Balances My Ass

[anagama]

Welcome to the new American Paradigm.

President: Legislator, executive, judge, jury, and executioner.

Re:Checks and Balances My Ass

[Anonymous Coward]

Unlike the previous one who was only a jury and executioner thats actually a step up!

Uhhh, no.

Obama's gone above and beyond ANYTHING the most rabid BOOOSH IS TEH EVIL!!!! foaming-at-the-mouth twit ever dreamed up BOOOSH! might do.

Seriously.

Summary execution of US citizens.

Can you IMAGINE the uproar from the /sheep had BOOOSH!!! done that?

Yet, Obama's been doing it for YEARS.

Re:Checks and Balances My Ass

[Anonymous Coward]

Welcome to the new American Paradigm.

President: Legislator, executive, judge, jury, and executioner.

You're confusing laws for administration policies. Reviewing existing infrastructure doesn't require legislation. Telling the various departments of the government to share information with each other doesn't require legislation. Learn the difference between a law and a policy.

Re:Checks and Balances My Ass

[frank_adrian314159]

President: Legislator, executive, judge, jury, and executioner.

You know, he wouldn't need to be the first if the Republicans in the House wouldn't make their number one objective "non-cooperation". And, as for the last three (for which there seems to be relatively broad bipartisan support for in the corridors of power), I'm pretty sure that's limited to the occasional drone strike or declaration of someone as a terrorist. As far as executive orders concerning agencies other than DHS and other non-terrorist-related issues goes, I've seen many people drag this administration to court, so that rules out (again with caveats) the last three. So stop the hyperbole. It doesn't move discussion forward.

Re:Checks and Balances My Ass

[anagama]

The whole Bush Obama thing has made me wonder if the true danger to our country will be some kind of civil war between the GOP and the DNC. Their policies are essentially the same (aside from edge issues like abortion and gay marriage(*)). On critical issues like the right not to be randomly jailed or murdered, on war, on domestic surveillance -- they're completely identical.

Yet GOPers loathe Obama and Democrats Loathe Bush. It's personal though -- it can't be about policies, it is only a personal hate based on the person's tribal identity (party). There is no logical basis for the two groups to hate each other because they do the identical shit. What you have is the pickup truck driving GOPer sneering at the iPad toting DNCer -- not because of an actual difference in policy, but merely because of mutual hatred. And that's dangerous because there is no reason or logic -- it's pure tribalism.

(*) I'm not saying these are unimportant, I'm saying that they don't matter if you are dead or in a gulag. There is a hierarchy of importance and there are more fundamental issues at the top of it.

Re:Goodbye Free Internet

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps he's master of his own domain?

Drone warfare.

[concealment]

Unlike the previous one who was only a jury and executioner thats actually a step up!

I think we're past the days of judges, juries and executioners.

Now after government bureaucrat #2,987,103 puts your name on a watch list, expect to suddenly explode at any time.

The age of judgment by drone has begun.

Can we report without being sued or arrested?!

[erroneus]

While there are lots of problems with the way things have been and are being handled, among these are the ridiculous reactions of business, education and even government has when someone says "hey, I found a problem." It's time "cyber" whistle-blowers get traditional whistle-blower protections.

Re:"Cyber"

[lennier]

It's 2013, can we please stop using "cyber" now?

I always liked "information superhighway" myself.