According to National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Keith Alexander, the United States federal government has the overarching duty and responsibility in securing the Internet to safeguard against cyber-criminal activities. Top military officials concurred with Alexander, but the government still has yet to provide details of how it intends to tackle Internet security issues. According to site Threat Post, Alexander “expressed confidence that the country’s information security apparatus was up to the task, but acknowledged the difficulty of securing the Internet, a network that many security experts see as hopelessly broken and flawed by design.”
The government has been victim of a number of cyber attacks in recent years, the most notable one being an attack by way of an infected USB key. While Alexander’s Gov. 2.0 Summit speech helps to highlight that Internet security, both internally and externally, will be a key government issue moving forward, it is unlikely that Alexander will be successful at mitigating criticism against the government for not being responsive enough to cyber-security vulnerabilities.
According to Alexander, the comprehensive actions of the NSA and other government entities involved on cyber-security will need to resepct the civil rights of citizens. “Our citizens take a lot of interest in the government’s activities in this area, and I have an obligation to the law and the American people to ensure everything we do preserves and protects their rights while protecting our interests,” says Alexander.
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