19 April 2015

Internet "Militarization" Threat As White House And GOP Congress Conspire On "Cyberdefense" Corporate Immunity Bill For Personal Privacy Invasions

     Sunday, 19 April 2015, WASHINGTON, D.C. - Exploiting the latest government-contrived hysteria over dire cybersecurity threats including a well-timed "chilling" Government Accountability Office (GAO) report concluding that hackers "potentially" could take control of airliners exploiting onboard Wi-Fi passenger networks (not to mention some kid just taking aircraft down with a consumer drone bought at a local market) further raising the alarm of those "confessing" the "rising threat of cyberjihadists" two Texans (freshmen from the endemically corrupt Lone Star state Republican party John Heath and formerly with the C.I.A. Will Hurd) have "written and engineered" a so-called "cyberdefense" bill (doubtless "engineered" as capably as the Patriot Act) granting businesses "broad immunity" for sharing "cyberthreat indicator" information with each other and the government's "obscure" National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center and for launching counterattacks (potentially against consumers' computers and phones) on the basis of "suspected" attacks which bill last week was rushed in a day through the House Homeland Security Committee by another Texan Republican chairman and "chief architect" of the bill (which apparently also required architecture as well as engineering and writing) Michael McCaul "working with the White House" who before calling for a vote informed committee members that "American companies are under siege" and also mentioned that hackers had this month acquired "nonclassified" but "sensitive" White House information including the President's unpublished schedule (President Obama's "published" schedule for the day is available to anyone signing up for daily White House emails).
     The House of Representatives is expected to pass the corporate immunity from "reasonable" privacy invasions and computer counterattack damages bill (the Ninth Amendment editorial board's proposed alternative name for the bill) as early as this week although the House and Senate still must resolve differences over privacy protections (or the lack thereof) and overcome concerns of civil liberties advocates such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) who "worry" about spying on innocent people and others about Internet "militarization" because of private companies being authorized or effectively deputized to "launch countermeasures" against those suspected of "attacking" them. Businesses long until now have been particularly concerned about liability for accidentally releasing personal customer information "compounded by leaks from National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden" which also reportedly causes industries to "fear disclosing vulnerability" presumably about themselves as well although it is unclear how. In any case reportedly "[i]n the end, fear may outweigh concerns about civil liberties".
     Readers interested in more information about the above can go to the San Antonio Express-News article link below also describing in some detail the huge cybersecurity apparatus in that city (which former C.I.A. Republican freshman Hurd represents) said to employ 2,000 through 3,000 in private companies and 7,000 through 10,000 in government cybersecurity installations including the Air Force Cyber Command and "one of the largest" National Security Agency (NSA) centers outside of the NSA's Fort Meade, Maryland headquarters. (Readers not presently subscribed to that newspaper can get a free two week all digital subscription which would seem to be necessary to read the article in its entirety although the Ninth Amendment by no means intends this as a promotion nor endorsement of that newspaper.)

http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Cybersecurity-bill-could-let-companies-trade-info-6208429.php

 Copyright 2015 Martin P. All World Rights Expressly Reserved  

No comments:

Post a Comment