Cybersecurity bill will expand surveillance powers of US military and intelligence agencies b4in.org/c5tZ The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 12-3 last week in favor of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2014, new legislation that massively expands the data-gathering powers of the US security, intelligence and military bureaucracies, by allowing “voluntary” information sharing between private companies and the government. The Intelligence Committee “marked up” the bill in two secret sessions closed to the public. The bill, which was drafted by Senators Saxby Chambliss (Republican, Georgia) and Dianne Feinstein (Democrat, California), is now set to go before the chamber as a whole. CISA clears the way for virtually unrestrained information sharing between the US government and corporations. Under the bill, large quantities of data can be transferred from companies to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without any form of legal review, so long as the data is considered “cybersecurity information.” Once acquired from the telecommunications corporations, DHS will then automatically share the data in real time with the US National Security Agency (NSA), Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), and other sections of the Defense Department (DoD) bureaucracy. The government agencies are authorized to retain data shared in this way indefinitely. These legislative changes amount to a far-reaching extension of the powers of the military apparatus to intervene in civilian electronic systems. As the New America Foundation (NAF) wrote in its report, “Analysis of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2014: A Major Step Back on Privacy, DHS would serve merely as a portal for DOD entities to receive cyber threat indicators, and there would be no functional distinction between sharing with a civilian agency and sharing directly with the NSA.” The broad language of CISA, New America wrote, “may be interpreted to authorize the government to gain direct access to a company’s information systems to receive cyber threat indicators.” Broad language in CISA leaves the door open for companies to engage in “hack-back” activities, such as deploying malware and spyware on the machines of customers, according to the NAF report. More b4in.org/c5tZ
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 10:26:47 +0000
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