A proposal to grant the U.S. President the power to "turn off" the Internet will be re-introduced to a Senate committee in the near future. The news came on Friday, as the Internet went dark in Egypt amidst protests calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30-year rule.
The Egyptian government achieved what many thought was impossible, coordinating a shutdown of the handful of companies that pipe Internet into and out of Egypt in an effort to quell demonstrations.
Senator Susan Collins (R- ME), one of the sponsors of the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010 (S. 3480) told Wired on Friday that the exact timing of bill's re-introduction is unclear, as details still need to be sorted out. Collins says the bill is designed to protect against significant cyber threats before they cause damage.
"My legislation would provide a mechanism for the government to work with the private sector in the event of a true cyber emergency," Collins told Wired. "It would give our nation the best tools available to swiftly respond to a significant threat."
TMCnet's Tracey Schelmetic outlined the details of the original bill, which was introduced to the Senate in June of 2010, last week.
Technology experts say it is unlikely U.S. Internet providers could coordinate an Internet shutdown like Egypt's since there are so many more providers and they have various ways of connecting to the Internet. But many countries do have central Internet connections so that power may be severed all at one time. That idea, of a single "kill switch," has enticed Collins and other lawmakers to push for the new legislation.
"It can't happen here," said Jim Cowie, the chief technology officer and a co–founder of network security firm Renesys (News - Alert). "How many people would you have to call to shut down the U.S. Internet? Hundreds, thousands maybe? We have enough Internet here that we can have our own Internet. If you cut it off, that leads to a philosophical question: Who got cut off from the Internet, us or the rest of the world?"
Cowie added that the Egyptian shutdown is almost entirely unprecedented in Internet history. Iran disrupted Internet service in 2009 to try to squash election protests, and military leaders in Burma attempted to disconnect primary communications links in major cities in 2007. That effort was undermined by activists who used cell phones and satellite links to make connections. And China has long restricted and censored Internet traffic.
The main different with Egypt's shutdown is that all devices with the exception of satellite phones are affected. "Iran never took down any significant portion of their Internet connection — they knew their economy and the markets are dependent on Internet activity," added Cowie.
"It's probably a phone call that goes out to half a dozen folks who enter a line on a router configuration file and hit return," said Craig Labovitz, chief scientist for security company Arbor Networks, of the Egyptian shutdown. "It's like programming your TiVo — you have things that are set up and you delete one. It's not high–level programming." Labovitz said that in a country like Egypt, with a centralized government and a small number of cables for piping in Internet, technology companies are typically under strict licenses from the government.
So how would the U.S. government coordinate such a shutdown, if the Senate legislation ultimately passes? An aide to the Homeland Security committee told Wired that the bill does not mandate the shuttering of the entire Internet. It would merely authorize the president to demand shutdown of "critical infrastructure" where necessary. For instance, infrastructure connected to the system controlling the floodgates to the Hoover Dam could be cut off if the government detected a cyber attack, said the aide.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Center for Democracy & Technology were part of two dozen groups that filed an open letter last year opposing the idea of a kill switch. The groups were concerned that such a law could be used to censor the Internet.
A coalition of Internet companies calling themselves NetChoice has also voiced their concerns about the bill and some new components, which would exempt the legislation from judicial review. The coalition includes AOL (News 
- Alert), eBay, Oracle, Verisign, NewsCorp and Yahoo.
Want to learn more about how federal regulations are shaping and re-defining communications and information technology? Then be sure to attend the Regulatory 2.0 Workshop, collocated with TMC’s (News - Alert) ITEXPO East, taking place Feb 2-4, 2011, in Miami. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski (News - Alert) has pursued the singular goal of ubiquitous broadband access to an open Internet. While some progress has been made, the most difficult decisions are ahead. What's the Commission to do? This program will examine the important issues facing the FCC (News - Alert) including net neutrality, inter-carrier compensation and universal service reform, new CALEA legislation, next generation 911, additional spectrum for wireless broadband and the evolving role of state regulation. To register, click here.
Edited by
Tammy Wolf
