Cyber Bill May Misunderstand ICANN
Legislation unveiled Wednesday by Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, would require greater oversight of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. The private entity based in California is slated to sever formal ties with the Commerce Department later this year and is working on a controversial plan that would change the way top-level domains, such as .biz, .info, and .us, are assigned. Read CongressDaily's coverage for details (subscription required).
"It's a great thing the Congress is taking this issue so seriously" and better coordination of cybersecurity is a laudable goal, ICANN Vice President Paul Levins told Tech Daily Dose. But the Internet is a dispersed network "so you can't just turn it off by exerting pressure at one point," he said. The bill would "make sure that ICANN does not succumb to foreign pressure" to end its relationship with the U.S. government, according to a summary. Levins argued the analysis "misunderstands ICANN's interests" and said his organization does not want to end its link to the U.S. government.
Another section would require the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to develop a secure Internet addressing system. According to the summary, ICANN has "failed in this regard." Levins defended his group's leadership on the issue saying a proposal on this front was sent to the Commerce Department in October and officials have been running a test bed for over 12 months. ICANN is awaiting feedback from the agency, he said.
A separate section of the Rockefeller-Snowe measure would give the president unfettered power to shut down Internet traffic in emergencies or disconnect critical infrastructure system or network on national security grounds. It would also grant the Commerce Department the ability to override all privacy laws to access any information about Internet usage in connection with a new role in tracking cybersecurity threats. Center for Democracy and Technology President Leslie Harris said the bill is a substantial overreach. "The cybersecurity threat is real, but such a drastic federal intervention in private communications technology and networks could harm both," she said.
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