So, it appears that the NSA is waiting for a major incident to create new cyber law. They have made it clear that they would enjoy nothing better than to have open access to private networks. This article from Jan 23, 2012 has some unsettling overtones in it.
From Reuters:
U.S. intelligence agencies have unique capabilities that can help protect American companies from cyber espionage and attack, but it will probably take a crisis to change laws to allow that type of cooperation, a former spy chief said on Monday.
Intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency are authorized to operate abroad but generally are restricted from working within the United States
“Trust us, we’re here to help” is not exactly the take away I’m getting here. Cooperation is not something that should need to be legislated. Call me old fashioned that way. This is little more than a way to back into expanding warrantless wiretapping under the guise of “cooperation”. We have seen this sort of thing in years gone by. An easy example can be found from this article in 2005,
From NY Times:
Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible “dirty numbers” linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications.
The previously undisclosed decision to permit some eavesdropping inside the country without court approval was a major shift in American intelligence-gathering practices, particularly for the National Security Agency, whose mission is to spy on communications abroad.
They continue to try and garner more access years later. It is interesting to watch this sort of thing play out in an election year. No great surprise but, interesting nonetheless.
(H/T to Kim Zetter)
Source: Article Link
(Image used under CC from 85mm.ch)