The cyber security bill that has languished for years became law last week. As was expected, there is no shortage of opinions about this legislation passing and its implications. Some like it and praise the passage as a step forward. Others believe this is eroding privacy of personal data. The third line in this heated argument startles the two sides just described.
The third group looks at legislation and asks how law can keep up with the pace of change in technology.
It took four years to get this law passed. Think back to cyber security in 2011.
In 2011 we were celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden while the group that calls itself “Anonymous” launched attacks against BART. San Francisco’s subway system. Today, the U.S. launched a drone campaign to hunt Islamic State leaders as Anonymous launched cyber attacks against the Islamic State.
In 2011 end-to-end encryption was discussed in terms of online payment and financial systems. Today, it is discussed as a mechanism to defend privacy and protect all personal communications.
In 2011 we were talking about the Arab Spring and its rapid spread across the Arab world. Today, one of the many discussions centers on the Iranian missile test and how that violates President Obama’s nuclear deal.
How should we properly balance privacy and the growing cyber threats faced by our nation? If you dig into this issues, we don’t even agree on how severe the cyber threat is today. There are those that point to this three sided controversy and believe since none of the sides are happy it must be a reasonably balanced approach. When national security is or very well could be at stake, is that the best that we can achieve. Somehow we must become much more responsive as the pace and magnitude of change increases.
Please have a safe and happy holiday.
