Cispa

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A controversial cyber-security bill known as CISPA is once again in the news. The House approved the bill last week, and it now moves to the Senate, but opponents of the measure are not going down without a fight. Today, in fact, hacker collective Anonymous is calling on websites to go dark in protest of CISPA as they did last year against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA).

But what is CISPA and why is it creating such a ruckus? Why is it being compared to SOPA and PIPA? Let's break it down.

What is CISPA? CISPA stands for Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).

What does it do? CISPA would allow for voluntary information sharing between private companies and the government in the event of a cyber attack. If the government detects a cyber attack that might take down Facebook or Google, for example, they could notify those companies. At the same time, Facebook or Google could inform the feds if they notice unusual activity on their networks that might suggest a cyber attack.

Sounds OK. What's the problem? Backers argue that CISPA is necessary to protect the U.S. against cyber attacks from countries like China and Iran. But opponents said that it would allow companies to easily hand over users' private information to the government thanks to a liability clause. This, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, "essentially means CISPA would override the relevant provisions in all other laws—including privacy laws."

Is that true? The bill's sponsors, Reps. Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberger, say no. But amidst backlash over the vague wording in the bill, the congressmen introduced an amendment that would require the government to anonymize any data it turns over to a private company.

What is CISPA, and Why Should You Care? | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

 

[jwoodie]

Good grief, do you ever have a thought of your own?