The Obama administration vigorously defended congressional legislation late Wednesday that immunizes U.S. telecommunication companies from lawsuits about their participation in the Bush administration’s domestic spy program.
Janet Napolitano dove into the Congressional Hearing pool today making her first appearance as DHS Secretary before the House Homeland Security Committee. The nearly three hour session (which included two recesses for floor votes) was as much a listening session as it was a “listing” session where Members gave her their respective thoughts and concerns. From the future of FEMA to interoperability, here are some highlights.
The impulse of any new Administration is to conduct grand reviews of existing efforts, issue sweeping strategies, centralize management, and reorganize operations and responsibilities. That is a mistake. Such moves are as likely to stunt momentum and slow innovation as they are to achieve any efficiencies of operation.
While I still think putting a cyber czar in the White House will be an exercise in futility, putting Melissa Hathaway in charge gives me hope that the Obama Administration is going to move out quickly to address the cyber issue seriously and competently. If she is indeed tapped by the President to lead this initiative, the Administration could not have found a better communicator or a more candid, collaborative leader to address the most complex and serious threat we have to our country’s national and economic security today and in the years to come.
The question that must be asked is what redress exists in the international community to deal with state sponsored cyber warfare? The answer to this question is quite simple: none, because there is no international rule of law that expands the laws of war to cover cyber-attacks.
Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security hosted the last installment of exclusive blogger roundtable events that Secretary Chertoff has been attending throughout his tenure. Below is a transcript from the event which covered the current state of DHS and future of the agency.
By Scott Louis Weber
The United States finds itself in an unprecedented vulnerable state as it welcomes a new president and rescues a battered economy. The downturn in the economy has gutted markets worldwide, fanning the already rising flames of anti-American sentiment. Our economy is reeling; creating a fertile ground for a terrorist attack and history demonstrates that terrorists view periods of transition as optimal times for attack. Now is not the time for corporate America to let down her guard.
It was with a great deal of disappointment that I read the comments of James Lewis, CSIS’ Director of Technology and Public Policy Programs, about the decision of the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency not to offer any recommendation on Congressional oversight for cyber security.
As National Cyber Security Awareness Month comes to a close, the debate on who should be America’s lead on cyber security continues unabated. On Monday of this week, the US Air Force suspended its efforts to establish a Cyber Command until its new leadership takes over and determines what course they should take. While the USAF begins to figure out how much of the cyber skies they will end up patrolling, the battle over the civilian side of the America’s cyber house goes on at full throttle.
The ability to order prescriptions via the Internet is one more example of how technology is changing our world for the better. As the tragic case of Ryan Haight shows, however, that with such new opportunities come the need for increased vigilance and proper oversight. This legislation is past due.
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