When It Comes to Cybersecurity, Scare Tactics Arent Convincing Americans to Sacrifice PrivacyRainey Reitman In response to ongoing delays in passing the bill, backers of the Cybersecurity Act have been attempting to drum up fears about catastrophic cyberattacks. Yesterday, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Richard Blumenthal called on the Senate to enact cybersecurity legislation despite the ongoing civil liberties concerns with the proposed legislation. Speaking to the Senate, Senator Blumenthal warned of doomsday scenarios, saying: The consequences of a debilitating attack will be catastrophic for our nation. Speaking in a similar vein earlier this week, Army Gen. Keith Alexander, head of the Pentagons Cyber Command, gave a speech cautioning against potential terrorist cyberattacks and warned that, The conflict is growing, the probability for crisis is mounting. In response to civil liberties concerns, Alexander stated: The reality is we can do protection of civil liberties and privacy and cybersecurity as a nation. This is a particularly ironic statement because Alexander, as director of the NSA, oversees the warrantless surveillance program begun by the Bush Administration which collects en masse the Internet communications and communications records of millions of Americans (like browsing habits, emails, and chats). We couldnt disagree more. While the perfect should never be the enemy of the good, cybersecurity legislation enacted in haste today could undermine the civil liberties of Internet users generations from now. Congress must take time to ensure all legislation it passes wont undermine fundamental online rights. None of the current cybersecurity proposals come close to fitting that criteria. There was one bright moment in the hearing yesterday. In his written testimony (PDF), Dr. Stephen Flynn of Northeastern University called on the government to resist the secrecy reflex when it comes to security issues, adding: [S]trict rules that preclude the sharing of homeland security information with unvetted individuals too often translates into leaving essential expertise on the sidelines. Even when security information is shared with vetted company security officers, they are precluded from passing along the details to their bosses who do not hold active security clearances. As a result, investment and operational decisions are often made with scant attention paid to the potential security stakes. The federal government should make a concerted effort to increase transparency with the broader public as well. This week also saw the publication of a new survey that shows that the majority of Americans dont want to sacrifice their online privacy in the name of cybersecurity. A United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll found that 63% of those polled believed government and businesses should not be allowed to share information because it would hurt privacy and civil liberties. In fact, the United Technologies/National Journal poll found that Americans were concerned about cybersecurity67% of those surveyed were worried about the countrys computer networksbut that didnt translate into support for proposals that could undermine online privacy rights. This matches with EFFs own stance. EFF has long advocated for better computer security through projects like our free HTTPS Everywhere browser add-on, our security audit of open source software, and our ongoing coverage of Syrian state-sponsored malware. But while we understand and appreciate security issues, we dont believe that safeguarding networked devices necessitates eviscerating all existing privacy law. Any cybersecurity proposal that gives the government free rein to snoop through our private communications without a warrant is the wrong solution. The United Technologies/National Journal poll also reflected the party-line disagreements that have helped stall progress on cybersecurity legislation. While Democratic respondents were divided on the role of government regulation in cybersecurity issues, a large majority of Republicans and independent responders to the poll opposed government standards. Unfortunately, our elected officials are doing little to assuage the concerns of Americans who cherish their online civil liberties. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has threatened to bring the issue to the floor for a vote before the end of July, leaving concerned citizens only a few weeks to speak out against the major privacy implications of this sweeping legislation. EFF is asking individuals to email Congress through our online form or call your Senator to urge them to oppose cybersecurity legislation that sacrifices online privacy. Please visit Electronic Frontier Foundation to support internet freedom and privacy. You can support this information by voting on Reddit HERE linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 