I came across this scary lttle tidbit over at FARK:

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Cybersecurity_Act_seeks_broad_powers_0413.html

Above original link to story

All I can say is I hope this doesn't happen! Because having a source of fast information on how to survive anything from earthquakes to zombie hordes is a bad thing

simply digusting .....

---

Nobody is nobody. Everyone has something to offer

they already have the power to do this. just try and look at any pedophile material(NOT recommended) you are blocked from viewing it because the FBI watches the traffic. BTW this is not first hand info. I know this from documented pedophile cases. Also any pedophile site is most likely an FBI or other gov't source. yet I digress

Yes the gov't is already in control of the interweb. also note that the interweb uses US designations for sites. So the final word is that this isnt really news if you've paid attention

---

In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Yes, I've read that if one even just looks at child pornography with his/her own computer he/she is liable to be put in jail!

---

they already have the power to do this. just try and look at any pedophile material(NOT recommended) you are blocked from viewing it because the FBI watches the traffic. BTW this is not first hand info. I know this from documented pedophile cases. Also any pedophile site is most likely an FBI or other gov't source. yet I digress

Yes the gov't is already in control of the interweb. also note that the interweb uses US designations for sites. So the final word is that this isnt really news if you've paid attention

They have the power to completly shut it down NOW? The net? Really? That's what the stoy's about, not looking over your shoulder to see what you're visiting ( which I know they could now) No they're talking about a SHUTDOWN - which is kinda silly as I thought that net could stand up to a nuke attack. Call me silly but that's kinda scary no?

---

Nobody is nobody. Everyone has something to offer

by shutting down a few central hubs you could easily shutdown the net.

---

In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

by shutting down a few central hubs you could easily shutdown the net.

Degrade it for sure, shut it down completely, most unlikely. The gov't already in control of the interweb? Define control.

---

I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

Actually, they're called "root servers" and they're placed all over the world, and are built for fault-tolerance (if one goes down, the others will pick up the slack).

The U.S. Government can shut down all the root servers in the U.S. if they'd like (where most of the root servers are located), but that would not shut down the internet completely. Those left running in other countries would pick up the slack, theoretically within 15 to 30 minutes.

The only thing the Government could realistically do is to demand all U.S. I.S.P.s to disconnect from the internet during time of crisis, and severely punish those who do not comply.

---

The only thing the Government could realistically do is to demand all U.S. I.S.P.s to disconnect from the internet during time of crisis, and severely punish those who do not comply.

By punish for doing something wrong do you mean bailout?

---

me@rescam.org

Actually, they're called "root servers" and they're placed all over the world, and are built for fault-tolerance (if one goes down, the others will pick up the slack).

The U.S. Government can shut down all the root servers in the U.S. if they'd like (where most of the root servers are located), but that would not shut down the internet completely. Those left running in other countries would pick up the slack, theoretically within 15 to 30 minutes.

The only thing the Government could realistically do is to demand all U.S. I.S.P.s to disconnect from the internet during time of crisis, and severely punish those who do not comply.

What time of crises. If you don't install thought washer at your ISP today, tomorrow the FBI will own your computers. They have already done swat raids on rooms full of servers!

---

A letter from my congressman...

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts on S. 773, the Cypbersecurity Enhancement Act. It's good to hear from you.

As you know, this bill would establish a Cybersecurity Advisory Panel to report to the President on all aspects of cybersecurity concerns, such as emerging threats, and would provide guidelines to businesses and enterprises on the most up-to-date methods for protection from possible cyber security breaches. The legislation would also provide the Secretary of Commerce the right to access cyber networks containing data relevant to protecting our national infrastructure. Overall, this bill would greatly increase the government's involvement with internet activity of both organizations and private individuals.

I agree with you that a balance must be struck between upholding civil liberties and assuring that our government can properly protect the nation against national security threats. This legislation is currently being considered in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and no similar legislation has been introduced in the House. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts close in mind.

Spelling errors and typos left as original.

---

me@rescam.org