In your educated opinion on security, what would you say are CISPA's merits and what are its flaws? Is it a threat to the way websites/organizations that have no bearing on national security operate, or to the way people should treat the internet from a freedom of speech perspective? I imagine that many people fear this is similar somehow to SOPA with a fresh coat of paint, so anything you could do to confirm or dispel that would be helpful.
CISPA has nothing to do with the objectives of SOPA. It contains no provisions to allow sites to be shut down. It is, in fact, voluntary: private companies that do not want to share attack data with the government are not required to participate.
For the record: the bill has few merits. It appears to do very little at all, other than (a) to associate its sponsors with being "serious" about "cybersecurity", and (b) to block the adoption of the far more intrusive intervention the Democratic administration wants. (Note before cackling: I'm a Democrat).
> It is, in fact, voluntary: private companies that do not want to share attack data with the government are not required to participate.
A bill that provides incentives (for example, legal immunity without any restrictions) is just as bad as a mandate. So that's a terrible argument, irrespective to the rest of your statements.
Thanks for the summary. I'm curious why the EFF/DemandProgress would be using up the energy of their supporter base trying to tackle an empty suit of a law, if it is one, and why they've expressed glee at the threat of a veto.
And from what I've heard about the attacks on various DoD organizations from people I know there, a sharing infrastructure to spread information about vulnerabilities quickly is probably going to be necessary soon. I really hope they're aggressively compartmentalizing those networks.
Maybe I'm unusual in that I have a limited number of things I'm willing to get outraged about in a given 6 month period before I start to question the people trying to stir me up. I'm under the impression that that's not terribly unusual, but I guess the popularity of Fox News is a pretty solid counterpoint.
I'm not sure I agree with tptacek about the donations, but one reason might be to keep up the pressure. Blocking SOPA was a big success, so having another battle soon after could be a way to both encourage their supporters as well as show their continued relevance. I'm also not going to argue that it's a bad thing: I love the EFF and donate to them, so if it helps them, I don't really have an issue.
I feel bad for wailing on the EFF about this stuff, because I used to be a fan of the EFF, but come on; their posts on CISPA cite PATRIOT, terrorism, National Security Letters, CARNIVORE, the FBI "bending or suspending the law" (begging the question: then HOW does CISPA matter?) and wait for it DRONE STRIKES.
It's not enough to be right; you also have to be correct.
