Go Slow on Cybersecurity

A month after Congress backed away from legislation that would have given government unprecedented power over the Internet, the Senate is preparing to fast-track another bill that would regulate cyberspace.

The Hill reported last week that Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring a cybersecurity bill straight to the Senate floor, skipping any committee markups. That means no public hearings and no amendments.

It also should mean no dice.

This is not the same as the House's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) or its Senate counterpart, the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). Those measures were aimed at combating the online theft of copyrighted material. Instead, the "Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2012" seeks to give government more regulatory authority over private computer systems that are deemed crucial to the nation's economic and physical security. It would require that companies take adequate precautions to safeguard their systems and would increase information-sharing about cyber threats between the private sector and the government.

That still provides plenty for the public to be concerned about. Whenever Washington wants to expand its power in the name of national security, pay close attention. When it involves the Internet and privacy, be especially cautious.

When it's being done expeditiously, be very suspicious.

The bill reportedly does not contain an Internet "kill switch" that would allow the government to shut off access to the Internet in the event of a national security crisis. It also removed language that would have authorized a federal cybersecurity administrator reporting directly to the president.

That's a good start.

However, the bill provides legal immunity to companies if they turn private data over to the government. That means they could ignore privacy laws if a government official tells them Washington needs the data. But that's opposite of how the system is supposed to work — government must comply with the law, not pick and choose when it wants to violate it.

Nor does the bill define what a "cyber risk" is. That could be anything the government says it is. And it could use that elasticity as an excuse to browse websites, blogs, emails, cellphones and text messages.

Clearly, the nation has a compelling interest in preventing hackers from harming computer systems that affect water and power systems, air traffic control, oil pipelines, etc. The cybersecurity bill, though, would expand critical infrastructure to include Internet service providers and private networks. That raises issues of privacy and civil liberties that must be closely examined.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., dismisses charges that the bill is being rushed without vetting. He says it represents elements of several other bills that have already been through the committee process. Nevertheless, seven Republican senators this week urged a more deliberate approach, writing that the legislation "does not satisfy our substantive concerns, nor does it satisfy our process concerns."

The online community and an outraged public applied sufficient pressure on Congress to bury SOPA/PIPA, at least for a while. They need to do the same with the cybersecurity bill. Force the Senate to slow down and unpack everything in the bill for public viewing to ensure our freedoms aren't being compromised.

 

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