LEAK: White House Draft of Cyber-Security EXEC ORDER, Fed Power Grab

by Douglas Stewart on November 29, 2012

A White House draft for an Executive Order regarding Cyber Security policy has been leaked & obtained by Conservative Report. The draft memo details just how the Executive Order on Cyber Security will be structured, and details the process by which cabinet members & appointees shall implement the new law.

As legislation, this act failed to be passed by Congress leaving the President to take his preferred means of creating law; by himself at the White House. The memo prefaces the need for such an executive action by reminding all those participating that this new responsibility of the President is due to the failures of Congress. From the memo:

In May of 2011, the Administration submitted proposed legislation to improve cybersecurity to Congress. Since Congress has so far failed to pass cybersecurity legislation in the 2011-2012 session, the President intends to use his authority to improve the Nation’s cybersecurity.

Use his authority he will. Since 2008 various websites had expressed concern over President Obama’s desire to micromanage the internet by creating regulations and giving multiple agencies responsibilities to enforce his new web regulations. With “national security” being used as an excuse to interfere, very little could be done to stop the president.

Now, it seems that that is exactly what is happening. A source familiar with the memo who asked not to be named said “This is the first real venture into putting blanket regulations over the internet in general. No one is going to argue against protecting our infrastructure. No one is going to say ‘leave the power grid software alone’ or ‘I’m sure the nuclear power plant is already safe enough against hackers’ giving that every other news story today has to do with hacking…the President already has public support for this.”

And they were right, to a certain extent.

Citing national security as the main reason for broad and sweeping regulations, the leaked draft also shows delegated responsibilities to multiple agency heads in order to enforce the Executive Order. The memo itself was sent to 28 of the President’s appointees and divided into two simple sections. Tab A and Tab B. One section structures the discussion on areas that need improvement while the second section of the memo (Tab B) is the current draft Executive Order on cybersecurity. Each agency head is not going to be able to identify every area at risk, so to be “safe” there is going to have to be extra government control, monitoring, intrusion, et al.

The starting point for an around-the-clock government monitored and controled internet starts with every agency having just enough power to go slightly beyond protecting themselves in cyberspace.

No memo or Presidential Policy Directive is ever going to be able to accurately predict every type of dangerous scenario they could encounter. So by design they have to grant themselves more power than they should have. Considering this is of the utmost importance, it being a matter of “national security”, than the Executive Order itself will not fall sort by limiting the power of these cabinets and the departments of the Presidents other appointees.

According to Part 4, the new Executive Order will:

“Establish workable frameworks for implementing cybersecurity minimum standards and practices designed to complement, not supplant, currently-available security measures- without prescribing particular technologies or methodologies.”

How does someone implement a workable framework without prescribing particular technologies or methodologies? You can’t. Its contradictory. You need a workable framework at any cost. And because you can not prescribe any specific technology or methodology then you are allowed to do whatever you want.

The fourth & final point of the draft says all you ever need to hear to be concerned about this power hungry President getting government claws around the last truly free thing left in this country. I will highlight the parts that signify the death of freedom on the internet.

Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin

“Those who are willing to trade their freedom for temporary security, deserve neither, and will lose both.”

Dear Internet, you were so awesome. We are all going to miss you. Have fun in your abusive relationship with the Democrats.

See the full memo to the right, and be sure to share it, courtesy of Conservative Report.