CISPA

Also known as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, CISPA would create a loophole in all existing privacy laws, allowing companies to share Internet users' data with the National Security Agency, part of the Department of Defense, and the biggest spy agency in the world — without any legal oversight.

03/15/2013
Cybersecurity

Intel Officials Admit "Cyber Pearl Harbor" Unlikely Soon, Agree Cyber Should be Kept in Civilian Hands

By Robyn Greene, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:27pm

Privacy protection, and the debate about whether to house information-sharing programs in a civilian or military agency, dominated three congressional hearings on cybersecurity this week.

In separate hearings Tuesday in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committee, leaders of the intelligence community called cyberattacks the greatest threat to the U.S. at this time—but admitted that the kinds of catastrophic attacks imagined by reporters and cyber experts were only a "remote" possibility in the near future.

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02/20/2013
CISPA

Government Doesn’t Need Your Private Info for Cybersecurity—But Members of Congress Still Want It

By Robyn Greene, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:33pm

Last Thursday, the House Intelligence Committee held a hearing that focused on...

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02/13/2013
Cybersecurity

President Obama Shows No CISPA-like Invasion of Privacy Needed to Defend Critical Infrastructure

By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:48pm

Last night the President signed an executive order (EO) aimed at ramping up the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure...

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02/10/2013
CISPA

CISPA Claws Back to Life

By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:54pm

It's baa-aaack.

The House cybersecurity bill that allows the National Security Agency (NSA) and the military to collect your private internet records is scheduled for an encore appearance on Wednesday. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Ranking Member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) will reintroduce the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), which news reports say will be the same bill that passed the House of Representatives last year.

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07/24/2012
Civil Liberties in the Digital Age

ACLU at DEFCON 20!

By Ateqah Khaki at 5:04pm

The ACLU will be out in force at DEFCON – one of the largest annual hacker conventions in the country – later this week and weekend! 

We will have a table at the vendor area all weekend (with super awesome ACLU t-shirts for anyone who signs up to become a member!). In addition to trying our hardest not to end of up on the Wall of Sheep, here’s a rundown of what we’ll be up to in Las Vegas.

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07/19/2012
Cybersecurity

New Cybersecurity Amendments Unveiled to Address Privacy Concerns

By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:28pm

No cyber news is usually good news, but today is an exception.  Senators have unveiled significant privacy amendments that will be incorporated into S. 2105, the Cybersecurity Act.  Authored by Sens. Lieberman, Feinstein, Rockefeller and Collins, the bill provides comprehensive cybersecurity reform, including a new ‘information sharing’ program that permits companies to share internet info with each other and the government. 

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06/29/2012
Cybersecurity

New Senate Cyber Bill No Better Than Last Version

By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:41pm

Yesterday, Republican Senators introduced a rewrite of their cybersecurity bill, known as SECURE IT. Advocates registered their opposition to the bill last month and its CISPA-like expansion of military authority to collect sensitive information on Americans’ internet use.  

Despite claims the contrary, the new bill has not been substantially amended and still does not meaningfully limit the amount or type of information that the government can collect from companies that hold very private and personal data. Most importantly,

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05/14/2012
Cybersecurity

Next Round in Cybersecurity Battle: The Senate

By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 3:36pm

Two weeks ago, the House of Representatives passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). But thanks to internet activism and advocacy by organizations like the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, 168 Congressmen voted “no,” including 28 Republicans, the House Democratic leadership, and a chunk of members who sit on the Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees.

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05/01/2012
Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Legislation and Common Sense – Still Waiting for the Two to Meet

By Zachary Katznelson, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project at 1:25pm

During the past two weeks, we’ve been highlighting cybersecurity and the dangers that various legislative proposals pose to our civil liberties. One major concern is the prospect of private companies sharing vast amounts of our personal information with the military and other government agencies, without a warrant or any court oversight. Much of the cybersecurity debate has been distorted by the conflation of scary stories of possible terrorist cyberattacks (scenarios that frequently fall apart when confronted by the facts) with troubling, but much lower-grade incidents of credit card and other theft. The result is a pervasive crisis atmosphere, which is then used to justify sweeping aside civil liberties in the name of security.

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04/30/2012
On the Agenda

On the Agenda: Week of April 30 – May 5, 2012

By Suzanne Ito, ACLU at 12:00pm

Congress is out this week, but May will be a busy month with cybersecurity in the Senate, the 2013 NDAA and the arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

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