Fed.Gov to take control of Internet during "Cyber Emergency"

Hey, what could possibly go wrong?

US senators have drafted legislation that would give the federal government unprecedented authority over the nation's critical infrastructure, including the power to shut down or limit traffic on private networks during emergencies.

The bill would also establish a broad set of cybersecurity standards that would be imposed on the government and the private sector, including companies that provide software, IT work or other services to networks that are deemed to be critical infrastructure. It would also mandate licenses for all individuals administering to strategically important networks.

...

"It applies to any critical infrastructure," [senior counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology Gregory] Nojeim added. "Surely, the internet is one."

Maybe they'll have GM run the Internet when the emergency hits.

This is such a colossally Bad Idea that I don't even know where to start. Perhaps the bit where the Fed.Gov can't even keep their classified network from getting infected? You know, the ones that aren't attached to the Internet so that malware can't get to them? So they'll do better with the Internet?

Look, the Federales have some very cutting edge technology, and perhaps more expertise than anyone else. But the motivations are set up wrong. Open Source luminary Bruce Perens sums the situation up at Slashdot:

I don't tremendously trust the government to:

• Maintain competence in a technical topic undistorted by political agendas.
• Be free of influence from deep-pockets technical companies to the disadvantage of smaller and disruptive players.
• Be platform-indepependent in their requirements and certification process.
• Segregate the power to turn off segments of the network to manage attacks vs. turning them off to manage other issues such as some mis-guided concept of "piracy", etc.

I side with Vinge in believing that segmentation of the network is a sure indicator of a government going feral.

The left had conniptions about GWB's "Patriot" Act. The constitution will be shredded, they said. The government will take all the power you intend to give them and twice more, they said. There's no good definition about what "emergency" means, they said.

So now it's who can get on the Internet.

Cue lefty outrage in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

[crickets chirping]