U.S. legislators supports creation of cybersecurity czar

The title “czar” went out of fashion in Russia nearly a hundred years ago, but in the United States they like it. The latest czar proposal was included in legislation proposed Wednesday to federalize cybersecurity. Among other things, it would empower the federal government to impose cybersecurity protocols on private industry.

David Kravets writes that the proposed legislation by Senator Jay Rockefeller IV (D-West Virginia) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) came the same day the Conficker Worm was supposed to wreak havoc. The proposed cyber czar would be vested with the authority to shutter both public and private computer networks during a cyberattack.

Snowe said the legislation creating the newest czar — which is a page out of the recent recommendations of the Commission on Cybersecurity, is needed to avoid Armageddon. “If we fail to take swift action, we, regrettably, risk a cyber Katrina,” she said in a statement.

Under President George W. Bush, Richard Clarke held the noncabinet role of cyber chief and wrote a book about the government’s inept approach to tracking terrorists and securing cyberspace.Still, Rockefeller echoed Snowe.

“We must protect our critical infrastructure at all costs — from our water to our electricity, to banking, traffic lights and electronic health records — the list goes on.  It’s an understatement to say that cybersecurity is one of the most important issues we face; the increasingly connected nature of our lives only amplifies our vulnerability to cyber attacks and we must act now,” Rockefeller said in a statement.