On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates ordered the creation of a new military cyber command that will not only coordinate the government's efforts to defend their cyber networks, but to engage in more wide scale cyberwarfare campaigns around the world. This is in an effort to increase internet security, and the safety of citizens.
This is mirrored in Canada by the introduction of a new law which would force Internet Service Providers (ISP) to allow police officers and government agents to intercept online communications and to gather personal information about internet users without their consent.
American Cyberwarfare
The American government as far back as 2001 conducted illegal wiretaps on its own civilians to try and root out suspected terrorist cells operating in the States after 9/11, as was revealed in 2005.
Yet, these mere wiretaps have been deemed inadequate to fully ensure the safety of the American people and the government, so on June 23 2009, Gates called for the creation of a new cyber warfare command, to be based in Fort Meade, Maryland.
It may come as a shock to many to realize that the internet was initially designed as a military communications tool back in the 1970's and 1980's, and it seems that this design may have finally come full-circle.
This has sparked fears among many people that the government is attempting to take control of the nations entire cyber world and its compuaters, yet the government states that they are not attempting to militarize cyberspace, or the internet.
President Obama and Cyber Security
The President of the United States, Barack Obama, reiterated the fact that the USA was not fully prepared for the threat a cyber attack by terrorist groups, and that the USA needed to better protect its critical computer systems and electrical file servers.
ISP "Snoop Bill" in Canada
Internet Service Providers (ISP) is Canada would have to make it possible for police and intelligence officers to intercept and interpret communications made through their servers under a new law proposed Thursday, June 18 2009.
The reasoning behind this new law is very similar to the Americans. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson stated that Canada must ensure law enforcement has the necessary tools to catch bad guys in the 21st century, and they cannot do that using the current laws implemented over 30 years ago.
The bills are intended to modernize the Criminal Code of Canada and to help law enforcement officers to detect and apprehend those suspected of cyber terrorism, cyber crime, or other crimes through technology.
Preservation of Data
ISP's must preserve the data of its users, and provide it to law officials. They must also allow officials to obtain transmission data sent or received via a modem, and ISP's must keep specific information about their customers and offer it to police if requested.
Police understand the privacy concerns of citizens, and will seek to find the "appropriate balance" between security and privacy.
Costs to ISP's
Some media experts fear the costs that these new laws will have on Internet Service Providers across the continent, particularly the smaller ones.
Larger ISP's will have 18 months to complete the necessary changes to their servers, and smaller ISP's (with fewer than 100,000 subscribers) will have three years to complete the changes.
Yet, the new equipment can cost over $15,000, a cost that many cannot afford to bear, especially in the poor economy.
Cyber Laws Around the World
Many other nations in the developed world, including Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom (U.K.) have already implemented similar laws to those being developed in the USA and Canada, some for several years.
Many citizens, however, fear the government control of their internet and the loss of their privacy, even going so far as comparing the laws to the harsh censorship used under the Chinese government.
It is clear, however, that in our ever-changing world of cyber technology, these new laws must be developed and implemented so as to ensure the security of governments, and of ordinary citizens.
- ISPs must help police snoop on internet under new bill, CBC News, Technology.
- U.S. to launch cyberwarfare command centre, CBC News, Technology.
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