How to Know When Government Secrecy is out of Control

When Joe Lieberman is actually trying to pry information out of DHS, you know we've got a serious problem:

WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., are seeking detailed explanations from the Department of Homeland Security regarding a new initiative to secure federal information technology systems.

In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, the Senators reiterate their support for the Administration’s heightened attention to cyber security as evidenced by creation of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). The CNCI, formally established in January, is intended to strengthen the federal government’s ability to secure the electronic networks and databases upon which it relies.

But, given the Administration’s request to triple DHS’ cyber security budget over the past year, the Senators are asking for specific information on issues ranging from the secrecy of the project to its heavy reliance on contractors to the lack of involvement by the private sector, which controls the vast majority of the nation’s cyber infrastructure.

While making it absolutely clear that he supports the administration on cyber security, even Lieberman doesn't have enough information on this one. His letter contains 17 questions, many of them multiple point, trying to determine information that they've been trying to get at since they first asked for a briefing five months ago.

The program is another potential assault on our privacy rights. This is a wide-ranging program in which the entire intelligence community--including the NSA--will be tasked with monitoring the nation's computer networks. Why should this be such a concern to even Lieberman? Wired sum that up:

Why might citizens be worried about privacy and civil liberties? Consider that the whole initiative appears to have been launched after the Director of National Intelligence told the President Bush that a cyber attack might wreak as much economic havoc as 9/11 did.

Consider that the NSA, which currently protects classified networks, wants to expand into protecting all non-classified federal government networks. Consider that Congress is set to legalize the NSA's monitoring rooms in the nation's phone and internet infrastructure.

For its part, the FBI says it also needs access to the internet's backbone, while the Air Force is hyping its own efforts at cyber defense and offense. Meanwhile, THREAT LEVEL's sister blog Danger Room reports that DARPA is getting in on the hot cyber-action, with a project to make a fake internet to develop new cyber attacks and defenses....

Now it seems the only question is whether the government will be able to turn the net into a controllable, monitorable and trackable pre-internet AOL-type service or whether the chaotic net will live on as just another frontier for the military-industrial complex to start an arm's race and rake in billions of government dollars.

This attempt to expand the reach of the intelligence agencies--given their proven and blatant disregard for following the law--deserves to be questioned, and both the House and Senate Intelligence committees should pick up the theme and join Lieberman in asking these important questions.

Yet another reason the Protect AT&T Act--or any other intelligence desire of this administration--should not be granted. Chertoff's five-month refusal to cooperate with Lieberman, of all people, proves that these people cannot be trusted with our privacy.