Jump to content

Home

US Senator proposes Internet Kill Switch


Astor

Recommended Posts

ZDNet Story

 

Lieberman said on Thursday that enactment of his Bill needed to be a top congressional priority. "For all of its 'user-friendly' allure, the internet can also be a dangerous place with electronic pipelines that run directly into everything from our personal bank accounts to key infrastructure to government and industrial secrets," he said. "Our economic security, national security and public safety are now all at risk from new kinds of enemies — cyber-warriors, cyber-spies, cyber-terrorists and cyber-criminals."

 

I tried to think of something intelligent to write about this, but I can't.

 

This whole idea seems to be made of Total Fail.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Considering the sheer amount of business, commerce and even government infrastructures that DEPEND on the internet nowadays.. yeah, that sounds real bright to shut it off :rolleyes:

 

Oh yeah, and PLEASE label it Internet Kill Switch. Don't think that will paint a great big bullseye on it for cyber-attacks do ya? ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just saw Lieberman’s recent Netflix account rentals, he finally got around to watching this.

Show spoiler
(hidden content - requires Javascript to show)
29393.gif
In other news he is also proposing no building over 3 stories tall, no more airports and no dump trucks in Manhattan. Guess he watched the entire John McCain saga.:xp:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a fail, but, you know, I like this idea just because the implications if this were to exist would be hilarious. Who wouldn't want a big red button that shuts off the entire internet?

 

Not that it's a practical idea whatsoever though. If such a button exited and someone pushed it, there would probably be economic disaster, not to mention a big 1st amendment-oriented civil rights dispute. It would also be impossible to account for every single server and network at once.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a preemptive shut-off switch for that feared internet terrorist attack...that way, if terrorist threaten to take down the entire internet, we'll stop that threat by shutting it down ourselves!

 

Crazy Americans.. No doubt they are working on it though..

Whats up with them, the obsessive need to control everything in this world..

 

Cool bro.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is one case where all the lobbyists in Washington might do something good, albeit for the wrong reasons. Considering how much business relies on the internet, they're going to fight this with everything they've got.

 

Getting large portions of the internet shut down would accomplish far more havoc than any cyber-criminal could hope to cause otherwise.

 

Lieberman clearly thinks that he's JC Denton, and just picked the Tracer Tong ending...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shockingly, I'm gonna take the opposite role. I think it is a GOOD thing. This goes no further than the president already has the power to do. Technically through the FCC rules 10thousand-something and 11thousand-something the president has the power to, in an emergency take over and or shut down all communications within the country. This would just update that to include the ability to shut down portions like the publicly facing side while leaving infrastructure available for use. The web sites we use are only a portion of the usable internet. There are secure functions which go on far more often than just bidding on a sports jersey on eBay. The ability to shut down the public side to prevent attacks on financial institutions and ATM networks is a positive thing.

 

I mean really, the president already has access to NUCLEAR WEAPONS!! Is access to shutting down the internet really worse than that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the president has the power to, in an emergency take over and or shut down all communications within the country.

 

Yes, within the country, but WHY (the hell!!!!) should the American president be able to shut down Internet all over the world?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, within the country, but WHY (the hell!!!!) should the American president be able to shut down Internet all over the world?

 

Because he is the American President!

 

I wonder how Americans would react if someone in the Venezuelan, North Korean or Iranian government would have came up with this internet shutdown switch. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The internet was originally DARPANET. From the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration. It was constructed on OUR infrastructure. And we can only shut down OUR portion. We can't possibly shut down ALL of it. There is no way to do so without violating other countries sovereign territory. BUT it's well within our rights to shut down the US communications systems altogether.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes. As it is an American creation. If China wants to shut down it's portion. It can. And while we would effectively be shutting down MOST of the internet by shutting down our portion, our controlling bodies, and networks.

 

We could shut down all communication within the country altogether. No phones, No cell, no radio, no intarwebs. AS IT IS NOW! This bill just re-updates the FCC rules to allow for the internet as a separate device.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mmmm yea, we'd shut down a major portion of the internet and if we want to...I guess it's our right. Everyone can still have theirs.

 

Yes, within the country, but WHY (the hell!!!!) should the American president be able to shut down Internet all over the world?

 

Chill. Think for a second. That's not physically possible.

 

Now people elsewhere going through the USA for internet might get shut out, but really it would not makr a huge difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.

..

...

....

.....

......

.......

........

.........

:firemad:

0.jpg

 

 

EDIT: Damn! You got me to derail the thread agian. :mad:

 

Anyhoo...Yeah, it's America's prerogative whether 10 million TOR players are inconvenienced or not.

 

And doubtless the numerous others who would feel the sting from that...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course the first one to use it will probably be voted out of office. I mean we're not talking something that would be taken lightly.

 

Like I said before.. The man already has the power to destroy the whole world, and you have a problem with him having the ability to shut down the intarwebs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good luck shutting down the |337 h4xx0r5

 

Disable the public facing network, and you do. My former job involved some anti-intrusion work as well(special thanks to Obama for quietly having our group shut down). The largest section of attacks came from the web. Sure there was the occasional attempt by someone who had gotten a hold of a terminal, but those things are just as dangerous to the hacker as they can be traced right back to them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...