U.S. Cybersecurity Methods Continue to Raise Privacy Concerns
National Security Agency Still Facing Scrutiny Over Intercepted Emails
Several Congressional committees have been investigating NSA since April when it was disclosed that the agency's intercepts of emails and telephone calls went beyond legal limits. A former NSA analyst admitted to being trained in 2005 for a program which routinely examined large numbers of private email messages. After the disclosure, two intelligence officials confirmed that the program was still in operation.
Response to NSA Cybersecurity Methods
In April, the Obama administration and the Justice Department said it had taken steps to bring the security agency into compliance with the law after a periodic review turned up problems with "over collection" of domestic communications. Under the surveillance program, NSA must get permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor telephone calls or email messages of Americans suspected of having links to terrorism.
Rod Beckstrom, who resigned earlier this year as director of the National Cybersecurity Center at the Homeland Security Department said, "I have very serious concerns about the concentration of too much power in one agency. Power over information is so important, and it is so difficult to monitor, that we need to have checks and balances."
NSA Director Admits Security Industry Has a Tough Job
Defenders of NSA say that while collecting millions of electronic messages, obviously some emails from American citizens will be read. NSA has intelligence operators in place that are supposed to filter those messages out, but some still slip through the cracks. The agency says it faces "daunting obstacles" in trying to avoid reading innocent emails as part of efforts aimed at reducing counter-terrorism.
NSA director Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander said in his keynote address at a recent RSA Conference, "We don't want to run cybersecurity for the U.S. government. That's a big job. We need to have a partnership with others. DHS has a big role in it. It's one network, and we all have to work together."
Alexander admitted that NSA's job is not an easy one. He went on to say, "How do we protect secrets and work to secure the network as a team? That's what we've got to learn to do. The bottom line is the security industry has a tough job. We are there to work with you as a team."
Sources:
NY Times: E-Mail Surveillance Renews Concerns in Congress, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/us/17nsa.html
Information Week: NSA Director: Agency Not Interested In Running U.S. Cybersecurity, http://www.darkreading.com/security/government/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216900449
NY Times: Control of Cybersecurity Becomes Divisive Issue, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/us/politics/17cyber.html
Published by Kim Linton
Kim Linton began her writing career in 2001 as a contributor for Ministrymaker Magazine. Kim's work has since been published on a variety of websites including Woman's Day and Intel, and featured on several... View profile
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32 Comments
Post a CommentExcellent report! I think the govt. has overstepped their boundaries.
I find it odd that the spying on us by Bush was work of the devil according to libs. But it is ok for Obama to do it.
wow makes me want to be more careful about my emails.
The cyberworld has become a scary one indeed. I guess no one is safe anymore.
Great reporting. The govt. has far overstepped their authority on reading email of private citizens. Let's hope all that stops under Obama.
Fantastic coverage Kim! It's hard not to feel a bit paranoid after reading information such as this. Privacy seems to have become a thing of the past...
Excellent report! Is nothing sacred anymore?
It's time to repeal the Patriot Act.
Curiouser and curiouser!
I have long ago come to the conclusion that absolutely nothing I write is "safe". Too many people wasting their intelligence creating mayhem out there. So, I'm careful what I write. I agree with what Agnes said. THAT's what worries me: all my physical and mental history on a disk in Washington to be used against me later.