CDT to Testify that Cybersecurity Legislation Can Promote Both Security and Privacy
Today, at 2:30 pm ET, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Government Affairs will hold a hearing on cybersecurity, “Protecting America from Cyber Attacks: The Importance of Information Sharing.” Greg Nojeim, Senior Counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology, will testify before the Committee, stressing that cybersecurity and information sharing can be enhanced while protecting the privacy of Internet users.
Read Greg Nojeim’s prepared testimony here.
“Quite simply, the American public should not – and need not – be forced to choose between being hacked by cyber criminals and being snooped on by the government,” Nojeim stated.
In his remarks, Nojeim details the ways Congress can embrace cybersecurity sharing policies that have appropriate authorities and safeguards that enhance both security and privacy. He also calls for civilian control of cybersecurity activity by means of the private sector, rather than military control of such activity by government bodies such as the National Security Agency. Nojeim then addresses the attributes of pending and proposed legislation on cybersecurity, assessing the proposals in regards to their protection of civil liberties and their approach to encouraging information sharing. He both criticizes and praises the cybersecurity legislation the White House proposed two weeks ago, and he suggests alternative approaches.
“The year ahead offers a promising opportunity to move forward in the development of new measures that will improve cybersecurity, including information sharing. Despite the scope of the threat, cybersecurity information sharing should be incentivized with care due to the significant risk of harm to the average Internet user,” Nojeim concludes.
