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Presidential Candidate John Delaney Wants To Create a Department of Cybersecurity (theverge.com)

On Tuesday, former Maryland representative and 2020 presidential candidate John Delaney announced a plan to create a Department of Cybersecurity that "would be led by a cabinet-level secretary who would be in charge of implementing the United States' cybersecurity strategy," reports The Verge. "The proposal is the first major cybersecurity push from any presidential candidate so far this cycle." From the report: In a press release, Delaney argued that the U.S.'s cyber authorities are spread too thin across too many agencies. This new agency would work to streamline the country's current approach. "Securing our cyber-infrastructure is not only a national security priority, it is an economic one as well," Delaney said. "In light of the many recent and continued cyberattacks on our country, we need to establish a cabinet-level agency to focus on protecting our cyberspace."

Currently, the cybersecurity responsibility is scattered across a number of agencies, with Homeland Security handling threats to civilian agencies, US Cyber Command dealing with military cyberattacks, the FBI prosecuting federal and international cybercrime, and a string of ISACs coordinating private sector actors alongside government agencies. In the past, the White House has appointed a cybersecurity coordinator, or "czar," to work across those agencies, but President Trump eliminated the position in May 2018, leaving no single person or agency in charge of leading the country's cybersecurity efforts.

71 comments

  1. In Soviet Russia... by dryriver · · Score: 1

    ... Cybersecurity invites YOU to their Department. =)

    --
    Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Elon Musk put an AI chip in its head.
    1. Re:In Soviet Russia... by shanen · · Score: 1

      Just read a funny story that sort of fits in right here... We know that dictatorship could happen in Russia, both before and after the Soviets. However this related story is about Godel, back when he became an American citizen.

      Godel, being a serious guy, studied quite seriously for the citizenship examination, including the Constitution. One of the guys helping him was a famous economist named Morgenstern. (The other "helper" was Einstein. Yes, THAT Einstein.) Godel decided the Constitution included logical flaws that would make it possible for a dictator to take over the country, but Morgenstern told him that was a crazy thing to worry about and they would never ask him about anything like that.

      So at the actual examination, with his friends sitting next to him, they ask him about where he is from and about the government of his native land, so Godel says he's from Austria and it was a republic, but it became a dictatorship because of flaws in the Austrian constitution. The examiner responds that this is terrible, but it could never happen in America, to which Godel replies, "Oh, yes, I can prove it."

      Having proven the Incompleteness Theorems, this could have been a serious problem. Morgenstern and Einstein were horrified, but the examiner just decided to change the subject.

      --
      Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
  2. Boring by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    You want to vote for this guy, or someone creating a Space Force?

    Besides, Trump already issued a National Cyber Strategy, and there is already a joint military Cyber Force.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Boring by dryriver · · Score: 2

      If on the other hand you want a Cyber-Space Force - the best of both worlds - you could cast a vote for this guy AND Trump at the same time. (Angry knocking on the door to my apartment - its William Gibson with a baseball bat... he always turns up when I make lame Cyber-Space jokes online...)

      --
      Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Elon Musk put an AI chip in its head.
    2. Re: Boring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree with you. The government tends to duplicate a number of roles and departments. Creating a monolithic bureaucracy that cost more in the end.

    3. Re: Boring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But I thought competition spurred innovation.

    4. Re: Boring by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      The government tends to duplicate a number of roles and departments. Creating a monolithic bureaucracy that cost more in the end.

      The bureaucracy also has a strong vested interest in NOT solving the problem, since doing so will obviate the reason for their existence, or at least reduce their budget.

    5. Re: Boring by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 2

      Are you even serious? Security isn't a "solvable problem" so your "concern" is asinine.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    6. Re: Boring by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Security isn't a "solvable problem"

      This is no single solution that will solve all security problems.

      But there are solutions that will solve many security problems.

      SQL injection attacks are far less successful today than a decade ago, mostly because of better APIs.

      Buffer overflow vulnerabilities are also less common, because common libraries incorporate solutions such as Stack Canaries, and non-executable pages used for stacks and heaps.

      The key is to not only develop better techniques, but to wrap them up in widely used APIs, frameworks, and libraries, so that even poorly trained coders end up using them, often without even realizing it.

    7. Re: Boring by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      For future reference when I reply to your idiotic posts I'm not attempting to engage in intelligent discourse with you. That is well known to be a fools errand. We get it. You know how to contradict yourself and pretend that you were saying something different all along.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    8. Re:Boring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In late January 2021:
      * Someone other than Delaney or Trump will be president
      * Trump will be in handcuffs
      * nobody will remember that Delaney even ran for president

    9. Re:Boring by Enigma2175 · · Score: 1

      You want to vote for this guy, or someone creating a Space Force?

      Besides, Trump already issued a National Cyber Strategy, and there is already a joint military Cyber Force.

      Yes, and in his great wisdom he appointed Rudy Giuliani as his cybersecurity advisor. Yes, the same Giuliani that doesn't know how links work and thought someone hacked his Twitter account when his typo was linked is the guy that advises the President on computer security matters. Yes, the same Trump that bragged he would "surround myself only with the best and most serious people" and said "we want top-of-the-line professionals" decided to go with the guy who can't even master Twitter as the main policy adviser for security. I know I'll sleep better at night knowing that Rudy is on the case.

      --

      Enigma

    10. Re: Boring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Keep telling yourself. Trump was investigated by the Clinton machine for 2 years and they couldn't even find an unpaid parking ticket. I'd say that makes him the cleanest politician this country has seen in awhile.

    11. Re: Boring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, that's almost one tenth of the time Hillary was investigated by the entire GOP. And her former campaign managers and personal lawyers aren't in jail.

    12. Re: Boring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree with you. The government tends to duplicate a number of roles and departments. Creating a monolithic bureaucracy that cost more in the end.

      Which is why we need to create the Department of Redundancy and Duplication Department!

    13. Re: Boring by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      clean? No, it just means nothing was found. He's a crooked, thieving, conniving SOB in all likelihood, just hard to prove. Similar to a....hmmm... Mafia Don? Or a Mob boss? (or most any other politician out there, from ANY political party!)

  3. Who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who?

    1. Re: Who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One of the lower ranked salesman that run our country.

      Every single one is a salesman.

      Their product is management, and they will say or promise anything to get you to buy it from them.

      We need management so we always buy it, but it seems like recently the sales pitches have become more and more extreme resulting in greater levels of buyers remorse and post-purchase rationalization -- seemingly at odds, yet somehow only leading to worse and worse product selection.

      Sorry there are no refunds.

    2. Re:Who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Isn't that the guy who played Q on Star Trek (TNG)

    3. Re:Who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who is John Galt?

  4. Cyber cyber cyber! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That word has been abused and overused for the last three decades and has lost all its meaning.

    1. Re:Cyber cyber cyber! by Lije+Baley · · Score: 1

      The one, true response and I've got no mod points.

      --
      Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
    2. Re:Cyber cyber cyber! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Basically over here in ITSEC, whenever we hear some manager type use the word "cyber" in some context, we know we can relax and occupy ourselves with something important.

      Because whatever he's saying is not.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Cyber cyber cyber! by houghi · · Score: 1

      The one, true response and I've got no cyber points.

      FTFY

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  5. What qualifies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    any of these people to make decisions on "cyber security"?

    I'd hire back-hat hackers and under-20's to deal with this problem if I was truly serious about addressing this issue.

    Could you imagine anyone in congress to understand the nuances involved in this, at all?

    Just asking?

  6. NSA by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    The NSA has that hat and likes that responsibility.
    What happens when some other group starts implementing real US domestic cybersecurity?
    No more plain text collect it all and what was PRISM?

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    1. Re:NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NSA would probably want to focus on their job more than hand-hold every other government agency under a sort of CIO of the nation. US will be a target, both from outside and inside in the future and a competent voice in the cabinet might bring useful perspective for example on attribution problems before the red button is pressed as a response.

    2. Re:NSA by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      AC why would the NSA allow another part of the US gov to be a shield from the NSA and its cyber sword?

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    3. Re:NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My God, we need the Division to save us! To be our shield, to be our light, with fancy government provided smartwatches.

  7. Good, we need it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Finally, we will have an agency that will ensure that our cybersecurity policies do not disproportionately affect women, minorities, underserved gender groups, or other victims of white manhood.

    1. Re:Good, we need it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good one! Let me tell you the one about the priest, the rabbi and Babe Ruth....

  8. Department of redundant reundancy by AlanObject · · Score: 1

    I thought the NSA already was charged with this. Wasn't the whole reason for the NSA is to manage communications security in the first place? In 1952.

    1. Re:Department of redundant reundancy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the NSA's charter in reality is making American citizens' cybersecurity as weak as possible. They lean on device manufacturers to weaken security (shall we install a backdoor account or two), they sit on vulnerabilities they discover rather than reporting them to the manufacturer to be fixed, they develop toolkits to exploit vulnerabilities only to have them stolen, and generally weaken any crypto they provide advice on (see elliptic curves).

    2. Re:Department of redundant reundancy by bytestorm · · Score: 1

      Mission creep. Their original purpose and their present purpose appear to have a conflict of interest...

    3. Re:Department of redundant reundancy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is why I think we need to split the agency into a defensive and offensive half.

  9. How much help will it be? by reanjr · · Score: 1

    Unless you somehow also give them legal control over the computer systems of all other departments, it won't help protect government information. You can't expect security when your software is essentially legislated through appropriations. As for private security, it would be much simpler to legislate around fines and penalties for breach and let the market handle the problem.

  10. You hint at a better way by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    I'd hire back-hat hackers and under-20's to deal with this problem if I was truly serious about addressing this issue.

    That's close but wouldn't really fix things...

    Instead, anyone with a specific degree of hacking ability would automatically gain a UBI of $250k a year an immunity from all drug and prostitution laws.

    Let the really good hackers take themselves out of the game through victory.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:You hint at a better way by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You do know that 250k a year is pebbles compared to what you can embezzle if you really know your shit, yes?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  11. Who? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who is John Delany?

  12. YES! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

    He's right, we really need some sort of department or agency to ensure our cybersecurity. Nay, not just cybersecurity but our security in general. It would need to protect not just the government but the whole nation. Yes, that's it! We need a national security agency!.... Wait a second... ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:YES! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We need a national security agency!.... Wait a second... ;)

      Yep, we have enough agencies to get the job done without another.

      You can get about 85% of the way there cyber security wise by simply taking what a top defence contractor does normally and using that.

      A lot of the rest of the way you could get by setting up a similar set of employees and ask them what they would do now, if they had more money to improve things. For instance IE is kept around cause company apps require it. Money and expertise can fix those kinds of problems.

      Maybe throw some money at cybersecurity problems, such as, for instance, whole disk encryption of SSDs using an embedded CPU to offload the encryption. How do you make those things to be absolutely sure you get the same as no disk encryption performance and be sure security is maintained and people can't just keep power to a drive and move the drive to a dedicated reader.

  13. Hot air and bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You want to vote for this guy, or someone creating a Space Force?

    Besides, Trump already issued a National Cyber Strategy, and there is already a joint military Cyber Force.

    Pfft! It's all hot air from Trump. Nothing is actually being done.
    He said he was going to spend a trillion dollars on infrastructure. Not happening and I'm still dodging pot holes on my way to work.

    He said he was going to replace Obamacare with something better and ...nothing.

    In the meantime, he's going nuts over the stupid wall that will not slow the drug problem in this country. Why? Because the drug problem - opioids - are made in the Good ole US of A and the Sackler family(Purdue pharma) is raking in billions.

    The tax cut was just crumbs for us little people and I enjoyed writing that $2700 to the IRS yesterday.

    You know, when Trump took office, he got a Republican controlled Congress. They could have passed a REAL tax overhaul - Fair Tax, Flat Tax ...whatever. Instead they made some minor cosmetic changes to the 1040, gave HUGE tax cuts to the millionaires and billionaires and gave us little people crumbs.

    Of course, the red trucker hat wearing morons think he's doing a great job.

    1. Re: Hot air and bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hey fucko every dollar spent on cyber security is a waste of money

      its new age thousand dollar army toothpicks

    2. Re: Hot air and bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey fuckee those dollars make sure your bosses cry in their vodka.

  14. Another level of bureaucracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does this madness end? Government will not take care of these problems. This is just so someone can have a job without doing much of anything (see Homeland Security, Education, Labor, HHS, etc).

  15. Wrong approach by Pollux · · Score: 1

    I'd prefer we create a "Department of Science and Technology". So, so many of our politicians are completely ignorant about technology issues facing our country; cybersecurity is only one of them. Climate change, nuclear power, net neutrality, rare earth metals, space travel, and the opioid crisis are just a few of the many, many science and technology issues that our executive branch needs to weigh in on every day. Having a cabinet level position that advises our president on these important issues would pay dividends.

    And then I would take the EPA, FCC, NASA, and the NSF, as well as create a Cybersecurity agency, and make them all managed under DST.

    1. Re:Wrong approach by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One of the issues you failed to mention is that DST should be under DST. Mainly because I'm tired of all the Daylight Savings Time crap in the news each year.

  16. Needs some sort of multi-level rights management by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think this makes a lot of sense. However, it needs to be part of all the other security departments such that no agency has access to everything. I would simply see this as a cybersecurity group that manages threats internally and externally using primarily budgets out of the existing law enforcement agencies. Give it a cabinet level position, and require the person in charge of it be someone who background is specific for cyber security threats.

  17. Rudy Ghouliani is on it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What the fuck else do we need? He does all of that cyber shit.

  18. Wrong approach by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The reason that cybersecurity has become a part of so many agencies' charters is that it is a problem which requires horizontal alignment across so many agency verticals. Except for intelligence fusion, it doesn't make sense to create some apex authority. This seems like a budget grab and a "bigger government" strategy. We already have multiple coordinating and cooperating agencies that have steadily effected improved outcomes already. The only outcome of an additional layer of bureaucracy is less effective outcomes.

  19. NO by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    It's like socialism...more is better! We already have the TSA, Homeland Security, FBI, CIA, NSA and on and on and on! No more governmental BS that will do nothing but trash what rights we have left, become over budget and on and on!

  20. HERE IS THE PROBLEM SO LISTEN UP! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The hacking of US companies by China and others but China especially has been known for decades now. Let me say that again, US companies knew that they were being hacked by the Chinese and trade secrets stolen. However, even knowing this they specifically refused to cooperate with the US government on cracking down on the Chinese. Why you ask? Simple. They have billions of dollars at stake in Chinese investments in China and they didn't want the Chinese government to kick them out by way of retaliation for embarrassing them or making trouble. As long as US companies refuse to cooperate with the US Government on cybersecurity because they don't want to lose money, the problem cannot be solved technically because at that point it's not a technical problem but a geopolitical and economic problem. Security problems aren't a thing because nerds don't know how to implement security, they're a problem because the people with the money don't really want security, because it's inconvenient for them, and they sure as hell don't want to pay for it.

    1. Re:HERE IS THE PROBLEM SO LISTEN UP! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Once the government has your information, your competitor is just a FOIA away from getting your secret sauce.

      Whatever the reason (*ahem* excuse) if the government can't do the job they shouldn't have the job.

  21. Why was the cybersecurity position eliminated? by Can'tNot · · Score: 1

    President Trump eliminated the position in May 2018

    What was the reason for this? I read the article, it just said to reduce bureaucracy. That's bullshit, what was the actual reason?

    1. Re:Why was the cybersecurity position eliminated? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because it's useless, there's no reason for it.

  22. A new one? by houghi · · Score: 1

    That will not go well with the old National Security Agency. Better reform that and the rest. Having another overlapping agency is useless.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  23. Another bureaucracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Another shiftless bureaucracy to weigh down the country with idiotic regulations and still more debt. What will they do for cybersecurity? Nothing.

  24. Oh boy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    then we can have a Cyber-Tzar... followed by a war on Cyber-crime. Yay America!

  25. Billions and billions will be used... by Frederic54 · · Score: 1

    ...for nothing in return... an agency that will produce nothing and basically protect nothing, hiring high $$$ private consultants from political friends

    --
    "Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
  26. Dear John by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks for clearing up your qualifications.

    The concept of a cabinet has been long since lost by having too many departments.
    Now if you had a plan to cut it in half, that would be interesting.

  27. Why do Democrats always want bigger Government??! by Hillie · · Score: 1

    I knew this John Delaney guy was a Democrat instantly because of the desire to grow the government in a completely unnecessary way.

    We have the NSA, that's all you need.

    --
    - Alex
  28. Not be be immediately dismissive... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... but that's an unworkable conflict of interest, when large parts of the government have the remit of not trying to aid in security, but instead exploit a lack of security to meet their mission.

    After all, isn't Ft. Meade the fricken largest employer in Maryland? If not, it's got to be in the top three.

  29. Won't eliminate the scattered approach by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One or two of the agencies mentioned would be integrated into the new department, but not all of them. The military isn't giving up Cyber Command to a non-military department and the FBI isn't going to stop going after criminals that happen to use computers. If the agencies are uprooted they will be replaced eventually.

    This is essentially the xkcd solution to the standards problem applied to the government...

  30. Or they have government experience, or contacts by raymorris · · Score: 1

    I don't like the term, but in government the term is cyber.
    Twenty years in information security here. I will never call it "cyber", unless I'm talking about something government related. The guy putting together a $450 million federal contract for infosec is doing a cyber contract.

  31. Politicians who clearly have no clue... by Targon · · Score: 1

    A basic concept here: If you are concerned with security, then why are you connecting infrastructure to the Internet in any way? Use your own fiber, don't let others tap into it, and then, security becomes about ways to keep people from illegally tapping into that fiber, which is NOT there for the use of the public. Military....nope, no Internet, power, traffic, you name it, don't connect these things to a network that is going to be open to hacking attempts. You can place SOME systems on the Internet for public access, but those would be on a different network. There is ZERO reason to allow infrastructure networks to be on the Internet in any way, access from home should even be seen as VERY rare, and should require a special network cable be run.

    We know how incompetent politicians are when it comes to technology, look at Clinton, Trump, and all of these other people who have ZERO clue about security giving access to friends and family members. So, take that away, make people take security seriously, and stop trying to make things "convenient" for these technically incompetent idiots.

  32. You Know Nothing John Delaney by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And in one policy proposal, John Delaney has showcased he knows nothing about how the federal government works. I could write a thesis about all the reasons this wouldn't work/achieve the goal and just end up wasting money but the bottom line of it all boils down to:
    At best this department would have all the responsibility with zero authority to do anything. At worst they'll somehow usurp authority and force blanket one size fits all requirements onto everyone and when they're wrong everybody is screwed.

  33. Obviously didn't work out well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or maybe you've already forgotten the last 3 years. It's not like the CyberSecurityCzar was doing a bang up job or that the alphabet soup would even listen to him.

  34. Am I the only one? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who was momentarily excised at the idea John de Lancie might be running for President? Q for President! Oops, wrong John...

  35. Aka the Ministry of Truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He wants Chinese style censorship to make sure his party doesn't ever look silly on the internet again.

  36. Re:Why do Democrats always want bigger Government? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did you think Trump was a Democrat when he proposed Space Farce?