The Cybersecurity Act of 2009

[DSieve]

...
Senators John Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) think so. On Wednesday they introduced a bill to establish the Office of the National Cybersecurity Advisor—an arm of the executive branch that would have vast power to monitor and control Internet traffic to protect against threats to critical cyber infrastructure. That broad power is rattling some civil libertarians.

The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (PDF) gives the president the ability to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" and shut down or limit Internet traffic in any "critical" information network "in the interest of national security." The bill does not define a critical information network or a cybersecurity emergency. That definition would be left to the president.

The bill does not only add to the power of the president. It also grants the Secretary of Commerce "access to all relevant data concerning [critical] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access." This means he or she can monitor or access any data on private or public networks without regard to privacy laws.
...

Should Obama Control the Internet?

As I read it, Section 5.b.5 give the Secretary of Commerce carte blanche to use the NSA to spy on domestic small businesses. Section 14.b.1 gives the Secretary of Commerce carte blanche to spy on financial transactions and any large business that the government considers "systemic" or critical.

Having the power to shut down any large corporation's computer networks gives the government quite some leverage (control) to establish political control even if they aren't under their thumb for having accepted any Federal bailout funding.

[DSieve]

Another prong in the attack:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took a step toward a national broadband policy when they opened debate to the public per the broadband development policy requirement in the economic stimulus package that was passed earlier this year.
...
Already acknowledging that the $7.2 billion alloted will never be enough to blanket the nation with high-speed broadband, the FCC tacked on even more considerations and plans. Immediately the FCC approved the proposal to improve data collection about broadcasting entities owned by women and minorities because expanding media diversity is a priority of the FCC.

The government’s FCC wants everyone to know that “openness,” and “avoiding invasions of peoples’ privacy,” and ensuring “cyber security” are going to be challenges. But if it’s anything like the “transparency” and “privacy” we now have, most don’t want any part of it.

First, though, they must divvy up the pieces of the $7.2 billion pie by agreeing to the criteria for grant applicants and specific projects. The big telecom companies are very worried about the "open access" conditions that will probably be attached to the government grants. But there are plenty who are lining up at the trough.

Verizon seems to be on board with the government’s plan. Susanne Guyer, a senior vice president there, said, “Given its importance to economic growth, job creation, and international competitiveness, creating a climate for investment in advanced broadband networks should be Job One at the FCC.”

But Joe Waz, a spokesman for Comcast Corp., which just happens to be the nation’s largest cable company, doesn’t see the government’s intervention quite like Guyer. Waz insists that there is plenty of competition, and it’s competition that works in a free marketplace. “Speeds have kept going up. Prices have stayed flat on a real dollar basis and have continued to decline in terms of the price per megabit delivered,” he said. Waz also said many of his competitors at phone companies are already investing billions of dollars in fiber-optic networks.

Nationalization, socialization, state-control, call it what you will, it’s an intrusion in the private sector by the government that has become all to common since January 21.
...

FCC Pushing for National Broadband

[DSieve]

The U.S. government's director for cybersecurity resigned on Friday, criticizing the excessive role of the National Security Agency in countering threats to the country's computer systems.

"He has tendered his resignation," Amy Kudwa, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman told Reuters.

Former Silicon Valley entrepreneur Rod Beckstrom said in a resignation letter published by the Wall Street Journal it was a "bad strategy" to have the National Security Agency, which is part of the Department of Defense, play a major role in cybersecurity.

Beckstrom headed the National Cybersecurity Center, which was created last March to coordinate all government cybersecurity efforts and answers to the Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security said in a statement that it has a strong relationship with the NSA and continues to work closely with all of its partners to protect the country's cyber networks.

Beckstrom wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday in his resignation letter that the NSA currently dominates most national cyber efforts.

"While acknowledging the critical importance of NSA to our intelligence efforts, I believe this is a bad strategy on multiple grounds," he wrote in the letter posted by the Wall Street Journal on its website.

National Security Agency officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Beckstrom said in his letter that the cybersecurity group did not receive adequate support to accomplish its role during the previous administration of President George W. Bush, which only provided the center with five weeks of funding in the last year.

His resignation will be effective March 13, the letter said.

The newspaper said the Obama administration was conducting a 60-day review of the cybersecurity program started by Bush last year to protect government networks.

Cybersecurity chief Beckstrom resigns