*This is NOT a political post. This is a current, important issue*
Well, CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act - http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.03523:) with its 113 sponsors has passed the House. Thank G-d the President is threatening a veto.
This one is Big Brother all over again. Worse:
b. Private Sector Use of Cybersecurity Systems and Sharing of Cyber Threat Information-
`A. CYBERSECURITY PROVIDERS-
Notwithstanding any other provision of law
, a cybersecurity provider, with the express consent of a protected entity for which such cybersecurity provider is providing goods or services for cybersecurity purposes, may, for cybersecurity purposes--
use cybersecurity systems to identify and obtain cyber threat information to protect the rights and property of such protected entity; and
share such cyber threat information with any other entity designated by such protected entity, including, if specifically designated, the Federal Government.
`B. SELF-PROTECTED ENTITIES- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a self-protected entity may, for cybersecurity purposes--
`(i) use cybersecurity systems to identify and obtain cyber threat information to protect the rights and property of such self-protected entity; and
`(ii) share such cyber threat information with any other entity, including the Federal Government.
So much for the Fourth Amendment.
Share with the NSA, military… the Federal government is a b i g place. In fact, the “sharer” will gain immunity from prosecution by sharing whatever it deems a threat. So much for the Judiciary, so much for due process. Your rights are disappearing faster than a mouse click.
In fact, there’s more in this bill that’s very worrisome: It offers “good faith” immunity to the informer so that if your rights are violated, you won’t be able to identify who did so (they are “anonymized”) and even if you manage to do so, they are automatically immunized against such litigation so, your data is at risk (The Cloud is NOT secure).
`(2) USE AND PROTECTION OF INFORMATION- Cyber threat information shared in accordance with paragraph (1)--
shall only be shared in accordance with any restrictions placed on the sharing of such information by the protected entity or self-protected entity authorizing such sharing, including, if requested, appropriate anonymization or minimization of such information
`B. may not be used by an entity to gain an unfair competitive advantage to the detriment of the protected entity or the self-protected entity authorizing the sharing of information; and
if shared with the Federal Government--`(i) shall be exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code;`(ii) shall be considered proprietary information and shall not be disclosed to an entity outside of the Federal Government except as authorized by the entity sharing such information
`(iii) shall not be used by the Federal Government for regulatory purposes.
So, the White House objected and stated, “[CISPA]…effectively treats domestic cybersecurity as an intelligence activity and thus, significantly departs from longstanding efforts to treat the Internet and cyberspace as civilian spheres." That’s very true. It is also the ultimate threat to your freedom and the freedom of the net. Though their protest is probably more motivated by election year politics than concern for our freedoms, at this point I’ll take what I can get.
As usual, the bill’s sponsors say they have no ill intent, but the truth remains:
"once the government gets expansive national security authorities, there's no going back." – M. Richardson, ACLU legislative consultant
Indeed,
“The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) said it was concerned that CISPA does not address the use of data "for national security purposes unrelated to cybersecurity."
Even more concerning, this “legislation” was rammed through without regard to amendments which needed to be considered before passing it on the House for the vote which passed.
However, most concerning (to me, anyway) is that no one in the public seems to be motivated to stop this stuff. I’ve written my Senators, but unless there’s an outpouring of objection from the “big boys” as was the case with SOPA, I’m pessimistic. CISPA seems to be flying in under the radar… or the operator is asleep.
Please get involved to protect your freedom, people. If you don’t know who your Senator is, just
Google or
duckduckgo it.
*This is NOT a “political” post. This is a current, important issue.*
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