Obama and the Question of Cybersecurity
Four months ago, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) of West Virginia, introduced a critical piece of legislation aimed at strengthening our nation’s cyber infrastructure. As with any other potentially new piece of law, comes plenty of debate. Not only have the legislative branches of government taken on the issue of cybersecurity, it has become a mainstay topic in the Obama administration. To give you a little background on this issue, even before the bill was introduced to congress, in March of this year a working draft of the bill was created calling it: Cybersecurity Act of 2009. Cited in the draft were 23 major points the Senate Commerce Committee felt were needing to be addressed. Even though most of the topics we cover here at Meta Fever are online marketing related (void of politics), I feel this is one pertaining to how we conduct future business on the internet. Let’s take a look at few things:
* Presidential Authority & the Internet: After conducting more research on the Act, it can be said most legislators are in favor of some type of law giving the government more regulating authority over online activity. This goes hand in hand with new FTC regulations forced upon online affiliates. However, the question remains: should the president have imminent authority to divert traffic from public and private networks…such as in the time of national crisis? Some have said this is the same as President George W. Bush shutting down the airlines during the attacks of Sept. 11th. I would disagree with this premise, considering the internet controls more than just passenger travel…and, in the 21st century the internet is more than a tool for business -the internet is business. What role should the federal government play in regulating the medium used by private sectors such as banking, online commerce and personal communication? These days, with the federal government growing at an alarming rate (from owning banks to car manufacturers), nothing surprises me anymore.
* Creation of a Cybersecurity Department: Now that there’s a czar for just about everything, why not create one to manage the nation’s flow of internet traffic? Well, Obama tried that earlier this year…but, right now the post remains unfilled due to the resignation of the first “internet czar, ” Melissa Hathaway. With this said, besides work being done by the FTC and the Defense Department (including the standard crime fighting organizations..FBI, CIA, NSA), there is currently no department managing the nation’s online infrastructure. I’m not one to believe the federal government should play a large role in dealing with regulation issues such as these..especially at the micro level of private networks. Consider this; when President Clinton took office in 1992, the White House was just updating the phone systems left over from the Carter era. The internet has probably experienced the success it has because of the LACK of government intervention.
* Terrorism and the Internet: With all of the whistle blowing going on about government intervention, we can’t be oblivious to the fact that terrorism does exist…and they would love nothing more than to cripple the world’s infrastructure by casting a blow to the cyber world. As I stated earlier, in the 21st century, the internet is not another means of conducting business…the world can’t move without it. Just like during the early days of the Industrial Revolution, the internet is at a critical juncture in how it will create a balance between online privacy and online protection. In one congresswoman’s opinion, “If we fail to take swift action, we, regrettably, risk a cyber-Katrina,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. The truth is, the internet is still a virtual “wild west,” in terms of government regulation. However, let’s not allow fear to stop great minds from continuing to develop and enhance one of the greatest inventions in the last century…if not the greatest.
