Stop the Cybersecurity Act of 2009!

Stop the Cybersecurity Act of 2009!

by Rob Viglione

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced a bill in the Senate on April 1st calling for sweeping powers for federal regulators to “secure cyber communications.” The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (S.773) would give government authority over all networks considered part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The usual threats and scare tactics are used to justify giving Big Brother greater powers, including giving the President the power to shut down portions of the internet he deems a threat to national security, and access to vast amounts of digital data currently legally off limits.

Industry experts criticize the pervasive intrusion into private business standards and practices that would result from some of the finer points of the legislation, including a section that grants government exclusive licensing rights to IT professionals.

Here are the basics:

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards development and compliance.
2. Licensing and certification of IT professionals.
3. Regulation of domain name contracts.
4. Executive authority to “shut down the Internet” when in interests of national security.

The bill is still in its infancy being referred to Committee, so now is the time to stop it! Take the time to write or call each of your Congressional representatives. You can look up your representatives’ name and contact information using this tool.