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Re:Story about spies penetrating grid may be part of a PR ca... by cscott on Wednesday April 08, 2009 @02:46PM (#553205)
There is a significant momentum building for stronger executive control over Internet connectivity to private-sector networks that are designated as "critical infrastructure."

The proposed CyberSecurity Act of 2009 would allow the president to designate a private network (such as a SCADA system) as critical, and in the case of a declared emergency, shut it off from the Internet.

As you can imagine, there is resistance to this from multiple parties, including those industries who fear additional government regulation and also privacy and anti-censorship advocates who fear "scope creep" in the legislation.

Re:Story about spies penetrating grid may be part of a PR ca... by euroclydon on Wednesday April 08, 2009 @02:52PM (#553214)
How would they send the shut-off signal? Over the internet?
Re:Story about spies penetrating grid may be part of a PR ca... by cscott on Wednesday April 08, 2009 @03:19PM (#553268)
Executive orders to impacted entities would involve a much more formal chain of command and control than a direct kill switch from White House.