Count yourself fortunate to be reading these words. If certain members of Congress and President Obama have their way, there is a good chance that you will find yourself hitting that frustrating “404 Page not found” error more often than not. That is, if your internet connection even works.
Two bills have just been introduced in the Senate:
S. 778: A bill to establish, within the Executive Office of the President, the Office of National Cybersecurity Advisor.
Sponsor: Senator John Rockefeller [D, WV]
Co-Sponsors:
Sen. Bill Nelson [D, FL]
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME]
Apr 01, 2009: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
S.773: A bill to ensure the continued free flow of commerce within the United States and with its global trading partners through secure cyber communications, to provide for the continued development and exploitation of the Internet and intranet communications for such purposes, to provide for the development of a cadre of information technology specialists to improve and maintain effective cybersecurity defenses against disruption, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Senator John Rockefeller [D, WV]
Co-Sponsors:
Sen. Bill Nelson [D, FL]
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME]
Introduced on Apr 01, 2009. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Here we go again. Pater Obama and the Family think that we need more protection. Their fears aren’t entirely unfounded, though I find it ironic that, even though it’s not new news, it’s all over the media that the footprints of Chinese and Russian spies have been found inside the networks that control the country’s power systems, indications that someone is wondering if they can wreak havoc by cutting off electricity, or water, or other critical communications between the regional groups that control them. It’s already happened in other countries and was discussed here in the United States – and certain measures implemented – after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
But as in most businesses (and probably even the case with the computer by which you read these words), computer security is at the bottom of the to-do list. The power industry’s own standards-setting organization, the North American Electric Reliability Corp (overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) is only now getting serious about the far-reaching impact of malicious intrusions to the power grids’ networks. And since we’ve all read about the compromises of personal information brought about by thoughtless financial employees, this late-coming assessment from those who oversee we have power and water oughtta scare the bejesus out of you.
So you’re thinking it’s a good thing that we, the people, start to take this “security stuff” more seriously, right? I have two words for you: fear factor. Unfortunately, if you take the time to read S.773 in its entirety, what you will find is the government reproducing what, for all intents and purposes, already exists in the private sector. Security standards. Educational programs. Accrediting organizations.
But when you live in the Obamanation, it’s “better” if it’s run by the government. The same government that giveth the bonuses and then taketh them away, all the while claiming they never gaveth them out in the first place. The same government that will, through this nefarious legislation, allow the President to determine what is considered “critical infrastructure information systems and networks” and shut them down, should he deem it necessary. This includes state, local, and nongovernmental information systems and networks. Yes, nongovernmental – private – information systems and networks.
And here’s a fun one – the President “shall notify the Congress within 48 hours after providing a cyber-related certification of legality to a United States person.” Okey-dokey….
How about funding a study of “the feasibility of an identity management and authentication program, with the appropriate civil liberties and privacy protections, for government and critical infrastructure information systems and networks”?
And let’s not forget the indoctrination part, “a national cybersecurity awareness campaign”, using “public and private sector means of providing information to the public, including public service announcements”. Like we need more government-sponsored advertising? How about government-sponsored competitions, complete with prize money given to students or academic or research institutions? In lip-service to “public-private partnership”, some of the money will come from the private sector since the governing organizations will be non-profits that receive government funding. And more non-profit, government-supported centers will focus on the cybersecurity of small and medium-sized businesses. (See the snake eating its own tail?)
Of course, we must attend to the children. This bill will use a “a Federal Cyber Scholarship-for-Service program ” to:
- provide a procedure for identifying promising K-12 students for participation in summer work and internship programs that would lead to certification of Federal information technology workforce standards and possible future employment; and
- examine and develop, if appropriate, programs to promote computer security awareness in secondary and high school classrooms.
All of which is intended to get them into the government-sponsored “Federal Cyber Scholarship-for-Service program” (the bill actually states there will be preference given to undergraduate or graduate program applicants who participated in the government-sponsored competitions). Can you smell the socialistic bent of this? Just like the professional vs. blue collar educational tracks in countries like Germany, where the government determines your career for you. How will you tell your child they can’t go to school to study art because they are too good at math or playing video games?
Like so many good intentions, this is bad and it’s scary.
Does the United States need to step up its computer security? You bet. Do we need the government to define computer security and K-PhD train individuals to design and implement it? No. This is yet another area where the private sector and the rewards system of the free market will always to a better job than a bureaucracy. The dot-com boom and bust was driven by ingenuity and smarts; computers and the internet is a 20th century phenomenon that government sponsorship couldn’t have created in ten times the number of years. Success in any area requires innovation and risk-taking, they are the key components of the many small, private business ventures birthed from ideas of bright people who had the freedom to pursue their dreams that allow you to read my thoughts right here, right now.
This country has more important things to do than spend millions and millions of dollars recreating what we already know needs to be done just to disguise one more government takeover of the private sector. It is yet another audacious idea whose time must not come.