Jim Flowers: Homeland Security and Education

Thu, 21 Jul 2005 08:57:22 GMT

House to Take Up Patriot Act Extension. On Thursday, the Bush administration will push to solidify support for the law and Democrats will seek to impose new restrictions. By ERIC LICHTBLAU and SCOTT SHANE. [NYT > Washington]

The weakest link

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 14:14:32 GMT

Kevin notes discussion at a SERIS meeting last night regarding security. We tried preaching behavioral modification back in 1999 in the executive branche (Georgia)... Agency heads and HR directors just looked at us and said "That's nice, where's the money for training?".

Security audits on state systems always show that it is easy to penetrate the state networks via individual users (no passwords, stolen passwords, open modems). The Internet was and is a small part of the security threat (note ChoicePoint, Lexis, et al).

As the old oil change commerical used to say "You can pay me now, or you can pay me later."

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 11:12:17 GMT

Patriot Act Gets a Hearing. Congress holds hearings to determine if provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire this year should be renewed. In the process, Congress takes federal agencies to task for thwarting congressional oversight. By Kim Zetter. [Wired News]

Sun, 10 Oct 2004 14:56:07 GMT

House OK's GOP antiterrorism bill. WASHINGTON -- House Republican leaders yesterday easily pushed through sweeping new law enforcement powers as part of a Sept. 11 antiterrorism package, but the House now must negotiate a truce with the Senate on those measures to get President Bush's signature before the elections. [Boston Globe -- National News]

Mon, 26 Jan 2004 23:20:37 GMT

Part of Patriot Act Ruled Unconstitutional. LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a portion of the USA Patriot Act that bars giving expert advice or assistance to groups designated foreign terrorist organizations. By The Associated Press. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

Wed, 21 Jan 2004 08:56:47 GMT

Bush wants Patriot Act renewed. President Bush calls for the renewal of the USA Patriot Act, the controversial law that has expanded Internet surveillance powers for police and partially expires next year. [CNET News.com - Front Door]

Wed, 19 Nov 2003 02:18:20 GMT

IT leaders question US cybersecurity mandates. WASHINGTON - U.S. companies need to work together to improve their cybersecurity before a major cyberattack prompts the U.S. Congress to pass hasty legislation, the chairman of a cybersecurity-focused House subcommittee told IT industry leaders Tuesday. [InfoWorld: Top News]

Sat, 15 Nov 2003 11:57:14 GMT

Time to go to the library --

I have been wondering what the filters blocked at our public libraries. Obviously, they don't block porn as attested by the arrest of an individual last week. So, maybe they are just there to block speech?

Censorware Blocks This Site. Simon Phipps alerts me that one of the big censorware outfits, SurfControl, is blocking this and other blogs as a... [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]

Sat, 01 Nov 2003 23:13:45 GMT

Point - Counterpoint

A point by point rebuttal to the new DOJ site defending PATRIOT.

" SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: AN ANALYSIS OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S PATRIOT ACT WEBSITE" [Daypop Top 40]

Mon, 29 Sep 2003 00:17:35 GMT

Some events worth noting

Are found at IP3. Especially the seminar on e-voting and the Patriot Act.

Mon, 15 Sep 2003 13:03:20 GMT

And they say bureaucrats aren't creative!

Terror Law Nabs Common Criminals. The Justice Department is using the authority granted by the USA Patriot Act to crack down on currency smugglers, meth cookers and other run-of-the-mill lawbreakers. Civil liberty groups say the government must be watched. [Wired News]

Thu, 11 Sep 2003 13:39:51 GMT

Two Articles

The first discusses how much money is not being sent to pay for the requirements imposed by Homeland Security.

The second discusses the dog and pony shows that Ashcroft is requiring all his US Attorneys to perform.

Georgia deserves 9/11 money. Macon

Crowd vents concerns about Patriot Act. Macon

Mon, 18 Aug 2003 13:16:01 GMT

Interesting story of unintended consequences?

Did Congress realize that the Wireless act they passed in 1999 really opened the door to privacy concerns?

E911 privacy, or E911 privacy intrusion?. CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh examines the FCC debate about whether to keep undisclosed the location of a person using a mobile phone to browse the Web or send text messages. [CNET News.com]

Sat, 16 Aug 2003 13:06:51 GMT

And you think you have no responsibilities now?

Cybersecurity chairman: Infosec mandates may be needed. WASHINGTON -- A top Republican congressman with jurisdiction over cybersecurity says it may be time to require private industry to protect its slice of cyberspace from attack. [InfoWorld: Top News]

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 10:53:20 GMT

How CALEA helps those that help themselves.

Robert X. Cringely: Shooting Ourselves in the Foot: Grandiose Schemes for Electronic Eavesdropping May Hurt More Than They Help. What you say. [Hack the Planet]

Mon, 11 Aug 2003 10:54:10 GMT

Untrusted Computing.

NSA wants Congress to authorize a think tank to create tools to analyze software for security flaws, backdoors, etc. Article

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 14:06:51 GMT

VOIP has gotten the FBI's attention.

Read the story (which follows) where the FBI wants the FCC to use its rule making ability to expand surveillance/wire tap rules so the FBI can force ISP's to allow easier monitoring of VOIP activity. (link)

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 13:51:09 GMT

From Frist to grist...

RIAA Picks a New Chief. The recording industry chooses a new CEO to replace Hilary Rosen. Mitch Bainwol, former chief of staff to Sen. Bill Frist, will take the reins in September. By Katie Dean. [Wired News]

Fri, 25 Jul 2003 23:00:18 GMT

Despite IT advances, terrorism info sharing still a problem for states. Although the federal government has worked to improve information flow, state officials say a lot of critical data isn't getting to state and local police, fire and medical personnel. [Computerworld News]

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 13:40:52 GMT

Justice Department investigates abuse of Patriot Act

34 claims out of 1,000 claims filed are said to have merit. According to the Justice Department. Athens article misses fact that 431 complaints were dismissed as lying outside the jurisdiction of the department’s inspector general (wired).

Fri, 18 Jul 2003 14:44:32 GMT

No $$$ for TIA

Did I miss something? Why am I learning of this from the BBC and not NYT, et al?

US snooping plan blocked. The US Senate blocks funding for a computer surveillance project that would comb through personal records. [BBC News | Technology | UK Edition]

Wed, 16 Jul 2003 21:15:41 GMT

Homeland Security and Microsoft Software

Homeland Security Department to buy Microsoft software. Microsoft will supply software for both desktops and servers within DHS, including Windows XP, Office XP, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Exchange and Windows Server 2003. [Computerworld News]

Wed, 16 Jul 2003 20:57:20 GMT

Clarke on Security

Mr. Clarke is getting around, doing some marketing, and he has more to say as to where we are regarding infrastructure security --

Internet Week: U.S. Cybersecurity Efforts Lacking, Says Former Presidential Cybersecurity Advisor Clarke. Because the federal government has failed to implement the public-private partnership called for by the national cybersecurity strategy, private companies need to join together to "work on security problems without help from the government," Clarke said. [Tomalak's Realm]

Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:52:06 GMT

TIA funding in doubt

Funding for TIA All But Dead. The Senate inserts a provision to a key bill that denies all funding to the Terrorist Information Awareness effort. It's a move that would make it much more difficult for the Pentagon to try to establish its massive data-mining spy network. By Ryan Singel. [Wired News]

Mon, 14 Jul 2003 13:50:08 GMT

Privacy Rights -- Inaction

I sat in the House Chamber 3 years ago and listened to Dick Armey promise our group (attending the Global Internet conference hosted at Georgia Mason University) that privacy laws would pass that year. And that those laws would endorse P3P standards (which all vendors said would be operational that year). We are still waiting.... (tic, tic, tic)

SJ Mercury: Privacy rights under threat by lawmakers. Dan Gillmor. In the constant battle to preserve what's left of our privacy and roll back some of the invasions we've already suffered, one reality is all too clear: Elected officials are not on our side. [Tomalak's Realm]