Law on Cybersecurity Allows President to Oversee Private Networks

Law on Cybersecurity Allows President to Oversee Private Networks

A new legislation submitted in the US Senate earlier this week would grant the president extra powers to disintegrate public and private sector networks in cases of emergency. The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 constitutes a wide range of provisions that would allow federal officials to implement new standards across private networks. 
 

The bill enables the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to build security standards imposed on public entities and firms in critical infrastructure sectors.  Another bill was submitted along with the cybersecurity bill, which encourages the government to appoint a national cybersecurity officer within the Executive Officeof the President. 

 

With these bills, the most interesting provision lies in a section titled as "Cybersecurity Responsibility and Authority."  This would allow the president to arbitrate in matters concerning national security, may it involve public or private sectors. The bill would also allows the president to declare security emergencies as well as reduce or stop internet traffic across any blighted federal or critical infrastructure networks."