CybersecurityU.S. considering Aussie Internet security program
The Obama administration is considering adoption of parts of an Internet security scheme which will go into effect in Australia in December; the plan will allow Internet service providers to alert customers if their computers are taken over by hackers — and could limit these customers’ online access if they do not fix the problem
The U.S. government is reviewing an Australian program that will allow Internet service providers to alert customers if their computers are taken over by hackers and could limit online access if people do not fix the problem.
ReportersLive reports that experts and U.S. officials are interested in portions of the plan, set to go into effect in Australia in December. Any move toward Internet regulation or monitoring by the U.S. government or industry, however, could trigger fierce opposition from the public.
The discussions come as private, corporate, and government computers across the United States are increasingly being taken over and exploited by hackers and other computer criminals.
White House cybercoordinator Howard Schmidt told AP that the United States is looking at a number of voluntary ways to help the public and small businesses better protect themselves online.
Possibilities include provisions in the Australia plan that enable customers to get warnings from their Internet providers if their computer gets taken over by hackers through a botnet.
A botnet is a network of infected computers that can number in the thousands and that network is usually controlled by hackers through a small number of scattered PCs. Computer owners are often unaware that their machine is linked to a botnet and is being used to shut down targeted Web sites, distribute malicious code or spread spam.
If a company is willing to give its customers better online security, the American public will go along with that, Schmidt said. “Without security you have no privacy. And many of us that care deeply about our privacy look to make sure our systems are secure,” Schmidt said. Internet service providers, he added, can help “make sure our systems are cleaned up if they’re infected and keep them clean.”
Officials are stopping short of advocating an option in the Australian plan that allows Internet providers to wall off or limit online usage by customers who fail to clean their infected computers, saying this would be technically difficult and likely run into opposition.
“In my view, the United States is probably going to be well behind other nations in stepping into a lot of these new areas,” said Prescott Winter, former chief technology officer for the National Security Agency (NSA), who is now at
