A new bill being drafted behind closed doors will give absolute power to Obama to disconnect any private sector computer networks if he deems them a threat to cybersecurity.
In fact, the requirements in the bill giving Obama power to disconnect networks from the Internet are deliberately vague. The 55-page bill drafted by aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller (a Democrat from W. Virginia) gives Obama the power to seize control of private sector networks and “declare a cybersecurity emergency” relating to “non-governmental” computer networks.
Despite the fact those networks are not connected to — and therefore pose no threat to government systems, Obama will still have the power to disrupt the networks to do whatever is necessary to respond to the perceived threat.
The new version of the bill includes a federal certification program for “cybersecurity professionals,” and a requirement that certain private sector companies deemed to be critical will undergo “periodic mapping” and those companies “shall share” requested information with the federal government. Those companies would then be under the control of those “cybersecurity professionals” who answer to Obama.
Translation: If your company is deemed “critical,” a new set of regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over your computers or network. Source
Understandably, the implications behind that language is a cause for concern to telecommunications companies like Verizon and Nortel, among others. “I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness,” said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which represents the telecommunications companies. “It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill.”
