Cybersecurity Act of 2012 Re-Introduced in Senate With Changes to Address Information-Sharing Privacy Concerns The revised bill is expected to be considered by the Senate later this week. (Photo: Wikimedia) With increasing concern over cyberattacks against critical infrastructure within the United States, the House and Senate both introduced bills earlier this year that were intended to help strengthen security. They would help facilitate the reporting of cyberattacks between private companies and the government, but were met with backlash as some thought this could lead to violations of anti-trust laws by the government, among other concerns. (Related: Defense Secretary: Cyberattacks Have the Potential for Another Pearl Harbor) The Cyber-Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) passed in the House and awaits a Senate vote. The Huffington Post reports that five senators re-introduced CSA2012, omitting security requirements and subsequent penalties for companies maintaining critical infrastructure. Not everyone is happy with this change though.
White House reporters complain about poor access to President Obama White House reporters squirmed with frustration this weekend when President Barack Obama’s aides repeatedly stiff-armed their attempts to follow him on his three-day Florida vacation and his golf outing with Tiger Woods. The media’s frustration prompted a protest by the White House Correspondents Association, and a rapid slap-down by the White House’s press shop. “A broad cross section of our members from print, radio, online and TV have today expressed extreme frustration to me about having absolutely no access to the President of the United States this entire weekend,” said a Feb. 17 statement from Ed Henry, a Fox News correspondent who is also the elected head of the WHCA. “There is a very simple but important principle we will continue to fight for today and in the days ahead: transparency,” he said. “The press access granted by the White House today is entirely consistent with the press access offered for previous presidential golf outings,” read the White House’s reply.
Obama Makes Cybersecurity a Priority President Barack Obama recently communicated his urge to have Congress pass the Cybersecurity Act of 2012. In last week’s Wall Street Journal Opinion the President echoed his belief that the nation’s cyber defenses are at risk. Much of what he wrote was reminiscent of Len Wiseman’s 2009 movie, Live Free or Die Hard, when a former a Department of Defense analyst shut down the nation in a matter of days. President Obama details a hypothetical mass disaster that wrecked havoc on the nation’s transportation and water systems: “Across the country trains had derailed, including one carrying industrial chemicals that exploded into a toxic cloud. The remarks were inspired by the Black Hat 2012 Conference, designed to bring together leaders to define the future of information security, currently being held in Las Vegas this week. “We are going to try carrots instead of sticks as we begin to improve our cyber defenses,”Lieberman, said in an e-mail statement. About the Author Manuel Flores.
CISPA is Back: FAQ on What it is and Why it's Still Dangerous UPDATE (4/22/13): The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) has passed the House of Representatives with amendments. This FAQ reflects the bill prior to the amendments. We will be updating this post as we review the bill. In the meantime, please refer to the version of the bill (PDF) that passed the House. The privacy-invasive bill known as CISPA—the so-called “cybersecurity” bill—was reintroduced in February 2013. What is “CISPA”? CISPA stands for The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, a network and Internet security bill written by Rep. Under CISPA, what can a private company do? Under CISPA, any company can “use cybersecurity systems to identify and obtain cyber threat information to protect the rights and property” of the company, and then share that information with third parties, including the government, so long as it is for “cybersecurity purposes.” Does CISPA do enough to prevent abuse of the law for copyright enforcement? No. Almost nothing. No. Yes.
» Barack Obama’s Pro Cyber-Security (CISPA) Freedom-Ending Op-Ed In The Wall Street Journal Tuesday 24 July, 2012 Barack Obama’s Pro Cyber-Security (CISPA) Freedom-Ending Op-Ed In The Wall Street Journal Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously In a future conflict, an adversary unable to match our military supremacy on the battlefield might seek to exploit our computer vulnerabilities here at home By BARACK OBAMA Last month I convened an emergency meeting of my cabinet and top homeland security, intelligence and defense officials. Our nation, it appeared, was under cyber attack. How to Defeat #CISPA Once and for All Podcast: Play in new window | Download From SOPA and PIPA to ACTA to CISPA to the TPP and now back to CISPA, internet activists have been caught up in a deliberately bewildering game of whack-a-mole with freedom-crushing legislation. Now, ISPs are doing an end run around the whole legislative process altogether and voluntarily collaborating with the entertainment industry to spy on their own customers. All of this is enough to leave concerned netizens demoralized, and in the war of attrition that is exactly the goal. CLICK HERE for the mp3 audio version of this podcast. Documentation
Vote this Wednesday on Internet Privacy violating Censorship bill CISPA or S.3414 Well Senator Lieberman Cyber Security bill S.3414 is coming to the Senate floor for a vote this Wednesday. First of all anyone that knows anything about computers knows this bill will not stop Cyber Threats from a country that makes are Apple Juice at Walmart, CHINA. The United States gives tours th Chinese Diplomats about are weapons but there all afraid of China getting into US Military Defense and finding out about US weapons. We buy goods from this Country and put NO TARIFFS on them and YET are Government acts like with this Cyber Security Bill, We never have anything to do with China, They are our biggest enemy and these Cyber Security bills are to protect America's best interest. What would protect America's best interest is for America to stop outsourcing are jobs and factories to China, THERE IS WHERE THE THREAT LIES.
Web Giants Fight CISPA, Push Back Against Resurrection Of Cybersecurity Bill Thousands of websites, including Craigslist and Reddit, demonstrated their opposition this week to a controversial cybersecurity bill, arguing the measure fails to protect the privacy of Internet users. But as Internet activists wage an online battle against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, the bill's chances of passing Congress the second time around remain uncertain, and some experts question whether CISPA goes far enough to protect the country from a potentially crippling cyberattack. The websites opposing the bill broadcast an "action tool" on their sites Tuesday that allows users to send an automated message to their representatives in Congress. “CISPA is Back. This bill sacrifices privacy without improving security. The effort is being promoted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Internet Defense League, an organization of Internet activists who led an online outcry last year that led to the defeat of anti-piracy legislation known as SOPA.
PELNET.EU - CISPA - A New Threat Source: Kurt Nimmo, Inforwars.com Sudden action on CISPA today signals that the House was instructed to pass the legislation despite overwhelming opposition. It was rushed to the floor a day early and quickly brought to a vote with additional amendments. “Pushing the bill through is bad enough, but what’s worse are the amendments that Rep. Ben Quayle (R – AZ) managed to get added. These amendments make CISPA infinitely worse than it already was,” writes Game Politics. The amendments converted the supposed “cybersecurity” bill into an outright Big Brother surveillance tool that completely nullifies Fourth Amendment protection online. From Techdirt: Previously, CISPA allowed the government to use information for “cybersecurity” or “national security” purposes. Dirty tricks were used to pass CISPA. The traitors in Congress threw up a wilted fig leaf to cover their posteriors. In December at the last moment Obama signed the NDAA after he said he would veto it.
Report: Facebook No Longer Supporting CISPA Facebook is no longer listed as a supporter of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), according to this CNET report. Facebook and its CEO were singled out by activist group Demand Progress, who sent an avalanche of emails to CEO Mark Zuckerberg with the message: "You're encouraging Congress to obliterate online privacy -- even as your users express increasing concern about the privacy of their accounts on your site. Whether Facebook was pressured to quietly remove its support from the bill through activist efforts or if it made a conscious decision to do so for its own reasons (probably it's a little bit of both), the company isn't afraid to talk about it in public. A Facebook spokeswoman told CNET today that her employer prefers a legislative "balance" that ensures "the privacy of our users": Microsoft struck a similar tone today, but it is still is onboard with CISPA (though it has said all along that the bill must provide better provisions for privacy).