Posted on 07/07/2010 6:14:18 PM PDT by starczar66
The federal government is launching an expansive program dubbed "Perfect Citizen" to detect cyber assaults on private companies and government agencies running such critical infrastructure as the electricity grid and nuclear-power plants, according to people familiar with the program.
The surveillance by the National Security Agency, the government's chief eavesdropping agency, would rely on a set of sensors deployed in computer networks for critical infrastructure that would be triggered by unusual activity suggesting an impending cyber attack, though it wouldn't persistently monitor the whole system, these people said.
Defense contractor Raytheon Corp. recently won a classified contract for the initial phase of the surveillance effort valued at up to $100 million, said a person familiar with the project.
An NSA spokeswoman said the agency had no information to provide on the program. A Raytheon spokesman declined to comment...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The government can’t stop a leaky oil pipe, or even competently mitigate the damage from it. I don’t see them getting very far in stopping a large scale ‘cyber attack’.
During the Bush Administration we had a fairly large and important cyber attack.
We recovered quickly and learned from that.
But that was then, and this is now.
Video of CBS report on attacks by Terry McCarthy.
The government is HIRING - EXPERIENCED HACKERS NEED APPLY.
Obama gets an on/off switch for the internet, then he bugs it. Why do I get this feeling someone’s watching?
Your Government a work............
“Perfect Citizen”??!??!?
That does NOT sound like a program to guard infrastructure. That would be named “Steel Guardian”.
“Perfect Citizen” would be to make sure we are all.... perfect citizens.
In thought, speech, and deed.
Agreed.
The idiots realize that it doesn’t take a cyber attack to damage the power grid, gas pipeline system, or other infrastructure. Physical attacks are effective as well.
“Perfect Citizen!”
Who writes this stuff!!
p.s. how can I change my handle on FR? I think I’ve just found a new one. It’s perfect.
And I am trying not to be knee-jerk; realize the WSJ is a post-national paper; realize this would’ve happened under a Pres. McCheese, too; realize that someone already warned 40 years ago about the military-industrial complex (right before the inauguration of the man who would personify said complex).
“While the government can’t force companies to work with it, it can provide incentives to urge them to cooperate, particularly if the government already buys services from that company, officials said.”
Where is Mike Royko when you actually need him
Thanks for the ping.
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