Why A Cyber Security Bill Will Pass

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http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/13253/why_a_cyber_security_bill_will_pass/


FBI Director Robert Mueller III testifies before a House subcommittee in March 2012 about cyber terrorism threats. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images)

It’s been a year of one step forward, one step backward for Internet freedom and privacy advocates.

The tug of war over the Internet’s cherished anonymity and chaotic democracy has government on one side and the public on the other holding tight. But at one point in the not-so-distant future, the gamers and the hackers and the libertarian haters of government regulation will prove no match for reality.

Every day, the Internet becomes less safe. This isn’t just the view from Washington; it is also the view from Moscow and Paris cyber security officials in government and in the private sector.

“Cyberspace is crucial for social and economic development and we are getting to a point where attacks can destroy the Internet infrastructure,” said Alexander Ntoko of the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency.

The orks–a rainbow blend of common hackers to rich cyber gangs and nation-states–are busting through the web’s door. They are armed with botnets. Their best and brightest write code in their sleep. The privacy rights of those inside the gates are casualties in a multi-billion dollar war that is fast becoming a top defense priority for Washington. Falling face first in the mud, however, might not be the end of the world when this tug of war is finished–providing legislators can assure individual rights to privacy if snared in a dragnet of online criminal investigations.