With the recent cyber attacks on Sony and the Pentagon’s Twitter feed, more and more Americans are wondering just how cyber-secure their country is. And rightfully so, as the 21st century continues to move online with no indication of stopping.
That being said, President Barack Obama’s new proposal to push for stronger cyber security laws in the waning years of his presidency should be a central focus to anyone concerned about the government’s ability to prevent ?cyber crime perpetrators.
Although he’s keeping things vague until his State of the Union address Tuesday, Obama has already ?stated the focus of this new push.
He wants both an increase in prosecution and penalty of crimes conducted through computer networks protection of private companies that give information to the government concerning computer threats from customer liability.
And while I have no ?problem with increased penalties for cyber criminals, that ?second point has me extremely uneasy.
First, much like a huge number of Americans, I ?absolutely hate the idea of the government given access to private information about me.
I try extremely hard to keep certain personal ?information off the internet and I’m scared of the idea that the government could learn my stance on an issue I consider private simply through my bank giving them information about which charities I have supported.
And even though I can’t see the government monitoring me to that extent right now, I really don’t want to end up playing chicken with the most powerful government in the world decades down the road.
And secondly, on a less personal level, the U.S. government has no need to increase its information-collection abilities because it has already shown its complete and utter lack to ?process this information.
For one example, look no further than Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of the two brothers involved in the Boston Marathon bombings.
In 2011, the FBI received a well-sourced tip from Russian officials concerning Tsarnaev’s embrace of ?radical Islam, as well as his intentions to connect with underground Islamist groups in Russia.
If you were looking for reasons not to trust ?governmental agencies tasked with collecting ?information that could stop crimes, this should be at the top of your list.
Not only did the FBI know that Tsarnaev was being monitored by Russia for being involved with ?militant Islamist groups in the ?Caucasus region of the ?former Soviet Union, they even conducted an investigation and concluded he wasn’t a threat.
These are the actions of the administration that wants more oversight into private civilian information, as well as the ability to protect companies that give up this information.
I’ll definitely be watching Obama’s State of the Union address concerning cyber security, as well as watching his actions in the upcoming years.
However, if his last ?efforts are any indication as to the future of America’s ?cyber security program are any indication, I’m scared. Really scared.
kevsjack@indiana.edu
