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20 Oct 09

Who Should Command the Cybersecurity Battle?

www.military.com/...-the-cybersecurity-battle.html - Preview

cyberwar surveillance privacy

Many power plant networks and other essential pieces of America’s infrastructure are owned, operated and protected by corporations.

Some say security of these vital networks should be the sole domain of the federal government because it is a national security concern. Critics say government monitoring of Internet usage -- even for malicious programming -- is a slippery slope toward Big Brother-style surveillance, and private industry can better secure their own networks.
President Barack Obama declared in May that cyber security would be a national priority, creating a cybersecurity czar in the process. But it’s unclear how far that position’s authority will extend once the slot is filled.

In announcing the czar, Obama pledged the government wouldn’t monitor the Internet or mandate security standards to the private sector.

But the Cyber Security Act of 2009 -- currently being debated in Congress -- would give the president authority to shut down certain private networks in the event of a big attack.
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- Some government Internet surveillance programs already exist or are in development. Einstein 3 is reportedly being developed by the Department of Homeland Security and can read e-mails in addition to detecting malicious software.
  
  Supporters of a more robust government presence in cybersecurity say privacy can be maintained in a surveillance program. Technology such as "deep-pocket inspection" can already scan Internet traffic for tell-tale signs of malicious programming without actually reading the content of people’s Web site visits, correspondences and other e-data, Lewis said.
- No laws exist allowing the government to protect the cyber network of a privately operated power plant or other critical infrastructure
- many big businesses are reluctant to invest in such costly cyberdefense systems over the long term
- But any government move to provide that protection via surveillance could provoke a public protest.