Politics/Ethics: Operation PinWale - Obama Administration Seeks Emergency Control of the Internet

[Lisa Kachold]

"While the details are unknown, credible evidence indicates that
billions of everyday communications of ordinary Americans are swept up
by government computers and run through a process that includes both
data-mining and review of content, to try to figure out whether any of
us were involved in illegal or terrorist-related activity. That means
that even the most personal and private of our electronic
communications–between doctors and patients, between husbands and
wives, or between children and parents–are subject to review by
computer algorithms programmed by government bureaucrats or by the
bureaucrats themselves. (Cindy Cohn, “Lawless Surveillance,
Warrantless Rationales,” American Constitution Society, August 17,
2009)

Reference:  http://fromthewilderness.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/obama-administration-seeks-emergency-control-of-the-internet/

This bill includes a provision for government mandated certification
for professional security or systems people.

While government mandated certification might be required (for
government networks); I am not afraid that passing the requirement
will be difficult.
No licensing has ever been hard.

Controls on private industry at a licensing level from government
simply dumb down the
private sector technical standards who somehow suddenly think their
open ended liability has been handled by triangulation.

While PCI compliance regulation was certainly finally required, a
licensing requirement for individuals working on systems will actually
thwarth evolution toward real secure systems when clearly a quarterly
system SCAN for technical proof of PCI and HIPPA compliance is
indicated (just like peanut processing plants are required to be
tested for salmonella).  Should America continue to hire
Persian/Iranian, East Indian and Pakistan "IT professionals" at low
low wages, the licensing might make sense, however how does one
determine IT terrorism from abject greed or uneduation?  If one can
pass a trivial government licensing test, then fails to provide
technical due dilligence because of corporate management, is that a
political agenda?  Let the private industry determine
technical/professional level required for their engineers by
financial/fiscal policy, like they did creating security issues not
paying hourly wages sufficient to the work required, not listening to
their technical security and development staffs recommendations.

The government will go ahead with it's control of private Internet
visa a vi this bill (or another with similar provisions) since this
will allow the real agenda of tapping various large nets (MAE-WEST,
Akamai Technologies) for packet traffic, which are fed into analysis
engines on the basis of known risk criteria as part of DHS/NSA
international agenda (that is without borders with regards to Internet
packets).

Some level of this bill is required, and will happen.  I, unlike my
parents, do not fear information, since I don't ever do anything that
would be flagged into a database that
would bring negative consequences.  I expect that misuse of secret
information, in human hands (read government) will continue until
humans evolve beyond that, or develop systems to ensure protection
(which ironically will start with NSA/DHS information technology at a
governmental level).

Disclaimer: This is a technical ethics discussion, let's keep ON
SUBJECT related to IT here.
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