Lieberman Wants to Give President Emergency Authority over the Internet

Legislations also creates a Cyberthreat Director in DHS.

In the bill, the President is given the power to "issue a declaration of an imminent cyberthreat to covered critical infrastructure," at which time the Executive Branch of government takes control of the internet.Some are calling this the equivalent of an "Internet kill switch."

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - If Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has his way, the President will be able to seize control of the Internet by declaring an "imminent cyberthreat." The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Thomas Carper (D-DE), would also put the America's portion of the worldwide web under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security at the point of such a declaration.

Cyber attacks against the American infrastructure on the internet have been the cause of alarm for many in the private as well as public sector. The solutions for such a problem have been varied.

In the "Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010," the director of the new National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications, which would be a part of the Department of Homeland Security, would establish a process by which the owners and operators of the internet's "critical infrastructure" will put together "response plans for a national cybersecurity emergency."

For the most part the bill puts more control in the hands of the private companies that are involved in the internet infrastructure and does not emphasize the role of government. The bill does not address specific emergency plan or the way the director will facilitate development.

The concern for critics of the bill centers on Section 249, where the President is given the power to "issue a declaration of an imminent cyber threat to covered critical infrastructure," at which time the Executive Branch of government takes control of the internet.

The bill goes on to say that "upon issuing a declaration under paragraph (1), the President shall, consistent with the protection of intelligence sources and methods, notify the owners and operators of the specified covered critical infrastructure of the nature of the national cyber emergency."

With the declaration, the director of a National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications in the Department of Homeland Security, is empowered to "develop and coordinate emergency measures or actions necessary to preserve the reliable operation, and mitigate or remediate the consequences of the potential disruption, of covered critical infrastructure."

Further, "The owner or operator of covered critical infrastructure shall comply with any emergency measure or action developed by the Director."

These measures automatically are cancelled after 30 days but the NCCC Director or President can extend the emergency declaration indefinitely in 30 day intervals. The bill also does explain what constitutes a "cyber threat."

Some are calling this the equivalent of an "Internet kill switch."

When asked about such a broad sweep of power, "Wired" magazine reports that Senate staffers familiar with the bill liken it to the FAA's grounding of airlines after 9-11 and say that this would only apply if the threat were catastrophic. This, however, is not specifically stated in the bill.

The Lieberman initiative is not the first, nor the most extreme proposal entertained by Congress. In this same session, Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced a bill that that gave the President unilateral authority to "limit or shutdown" traffic to any part of the internet that he deemed as "critical" during an emergency. After a huge public outcry, the bill died.

On Tuesday, at a hearing of the Senate Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Senator Lieberman, who is the Committee's chair, defended his bill by maintaining that it is critical for the president to be able to "say to an electric company or to say to Verizon, in the national interest, 'There's an attack about to come, and I hereby order you to put a patch on this, or put your network down on this part, or stop accepting any incoming from country A.'"

The White House stopped short of endorsing the bill during the hearings. According to CNet News, Philip Reitinger, the Deputy Undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security, agreed that the executive branch "may need to take extraordinary measures" when responding to cyberthreats.

Reitinger went on to say that "we believe it is preferable" to have a single organization--that is, an arm of the DHS--handle physical and Internet infrastructure rather than create a new office."

In addition, the deputy undersecretary stated that the 1934 Communications Act already gives the president broad emergency power to seize control of any "facilities or stations for wire communication (which would now, it is assumed, include wireless) should there be a "threat of war."

"Congress and the administration should work together to identify any needed adjustments to the act, as opposed to developing overlapping legislation," he said.

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