Saturday, May 14, 2011

New Cyber Security Bill on its way?

On Thursday, the White House planned to reveal its new draft legislation that is expected to better protect the nation from cyber crime threatening the national infrastructure and the economy.
"The administration has taken significant steps to better protect America against cyber threats," an official said. This cybersecurity legislative proposal is used to demonstrate Obama’s “commitment to addressing complex and systemic national vulnerabilities that place the American people and economy at risk," the official said.
The proposed bill will focus on improving cybersecurity in the critical national infrastructure and in the government's networks and computers. The official also commented on the potential opposition from privacy groups who may argue that the bill will affect the balance between protecting civil liberties and economic growth. The White House is anticipating Congress to take action on the cybersecurity bill this year.
I am not quite sure about how this process of improving cybersecurity will work, but ultimately it sounds like a good idea to me, especially in regards to the recent numerous Facebook hackings. Do you guys agree with the pursuit of this plan, and how do you think Congress should go about it?

8 comments:

Michael Jin said...

It's really hard for me to say whether this bill should be supported or not. Internet crime adversely affects online businesses and people who use the internet to do social networking, so it is good that the government is deciding to step in and protect the general public from being hacked by online thieves and evildoers. However, allowing such a bill to be passed also increases the chances that there will be some sort of compromise to our personal online privacy.

Disregarding my own ambivalent opinion towards the bill, the plan the government is a smart move towards shielding the United States from cyber attacks. Viruses and computer worms can severely cripple both governmental and public systems that are linked to the internet, so it would wise to build up our defenses before they even have a chance to get to us.

EricDing said...

Since the details of this legislation are still vague, I will echo the words of Michael Jin, saying that it's rather difficult for me at this stage in time to support or condemn this bill. However, cyber attacks are indeed lethal to our technologically-advanced country, so I do support the general idea of cyber protection.

Let's hope we can stop more than just Facebook hackers though.

Jeff Ware said...

While the details of this bill should be heavily scrutinized (as I’m sure they will be), to avoid wasteful and futile spending, this sounds like a move in the right direction. While physical armies are still useful, I strongly believe that “attacks” from other countries (maybe China??) will be economic and/or over computers going forward. If the United States can stay one step ahead, then I think that it will pay off in the long run. I’m not sure what this bill plans to do for individuals, or how much that will realistically help, but as a national security piece, I suspect that this will pay off more than extra defense spending.

Ayaka Chin said...

Along with everyone else who posted, the content of the bill as of right now is too vague for me to take a side. I think internet security is a pressing issue but there is a fine line between protecting the people and infringing on their privacy. Passing a bill toward internet security is great but it must be done with the utmost caution. I know that there are certain programs that the government is considering that has been reviewed by the justice department. The justice department has noted the risk of infringing on the people's privacy and warned of certain violations. The government has an compelling interest and obligation in cracking down on cybercrime but it must respect the people's privacy. I think it is a step forward in protecting the people but it will definitely take time for the government to come to a consensus on how to procede with controlling malicious actions on the internet

Bryce Balbon said...

I think that an internet security bill is something that is long overdue, if it wasnt brought up on thursday it would have been eventually discussed. Instead of favoring the bill or not I tend to comment on the overall tendencies of people. Americans will always want a sense of security, even if the consequences of such interests may be the invasion of an individual's privacy. My point is, even if this version of the bill does not pass, an internet security bill is inevitable.

Bobby John said...

Why not just make a "We can't understand it so we ban it" rule for everything that people want to do?

Amrit Saxena said...

In this new era of the ever-increasing influence of internet-based activities on our livelihoods, strengthened cyber security is of the utmost importance. Although I don't know the specifics of this bill, I do know that sweeping and dynamic reforms must be made to more properly regulate cyber technologies and safeguard the interests of the America people. Everything from the nation's nuclear arsenal to dishwashers in posh, upscale homes is connected by the internet, and as evidenced by the sheer number and magnitude of cyber attacks in the past couple of weeks (e.g., Sony's PlayStation Network, FaceBook, etc.), these technologies have the potential to be much safer than they currently are. Furthermore, seeing as how we are all perpetually and fundamentally connected to this growing network via the likes of our cell phones and notebook computers, steps must be taken to protect our cyber security and privacy.

casper said...

For some reason, I think the bill should be passed. Forgive me if I don't understand the whole bill, but I think Bryce is right when he said it is only inevitable that a internet security bill will take place. I mean if you think about, our whole lives basically revolve around computers, and technology, so I guess it is only logical that we protect the things that are running our lives.