Sunday, August 30, 2009

Cyberkill

Details of new legislation to be introduced by Sen. Jay Rockefeller are leaking. Essentially, the legislation in its current form would give the President the power to declare a "cyber-emergency" and allow him or her to turn off the internet. It would also create a licensing standard for technology professionals to create a single standard. In the bill there is no definition of what is a "cyber-emergency" or any bounds to the President's powers.

This is a road paved with good intentions, and we know where that leads. Giving the President a kill switch and giving the President a blank check to declare a cyber-emergency is ridiculous. Let private industry deal with cyber-threats and attacks; given some motivation I'm sure they'll come up with something before the government does.

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