The computer networks of public and private entities will now be monitored by “Perfect Citizen” a federal program headed by the National Security Agency (NSA). Perfect Citizen has been created to fend off cyber attacks against infrastructure vital to national security like power plants and electric grids. To supporters, Perfect Citizen is a reassuring presence, when others see Big Brother in massive automated NSA surveillance.
Perfect Citizen – more authority for the NSA
The Perfect Citizen story broke Thursday within the Wall Street Journal. The Journal reports the government’s chief eavesdroppers, the NSA will deploy a set of sensors within the computer networks of entities deemed critical that is triggered by spikes that might be warnings of a cyber attack. A classified contract worth up to $ 1 million was recently awarded to Ratheon, the defense contractor for phase one of Perfect Citizen. Perfect Citizen has caused some industry and government officials aware of its aims to believe it is an NSA intrusion into private domestic affairs. Others believe it is about time the NSA got into the game, being that it is the only agency in place that can deal with the responsibility.
NSA says it will share intelligence
The Journal article explains that Perfect Citizen could be applied to older computer networks which were designed before Internet security was an issue. Critical infrastructure like subway systems and air traffic control are run by these older networks. These networks are more efficient after being linked online, but have become sitting ducks for cyber attack. Perfect Citizen will collect intelligence the NSA said it will share will all companies to use for optimizing Internet security.
Can Big Brother be trusted to behave?
Many people are uneasy about Perfect Citizen, maybe because of its Orwellian title. The primary concern, PC World reports, is that Perfect Citizen is just the prelude to the NSA’s eventual monitoring of all domestic network activity. By accessing the networks of public utilities and power plants, the NSA may also be tempted to get data about the power usage and travel plans of private citizens. For now, nobody really knows if Perfect Citizen can enforce national security without trampling on the rights of private citizens.
More info accessible at these websites:
wsj.com
www.nsa.gov
pcworld.com
