Bruce Schneier: Cybersecurity requires its own government agency

Sep 12

Editor’s Note: See Why OIRA Needs to Coordinate Federal Cyber Security Regulation.

From: Politico | Morning Cybersecurity

Takeaways from Bruce Schneier’s new book

By

With help from Mike Farrell, Eric Geller and Martin Matishak

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Cybersecurity requires its own government agency. Schneier writes that government is “by far the most common way we improve our collective security.” So, he’s proposing a National Cyber Office that would not have regulatory power (at least not initially) but would offer advice, direct research, convene meetings and set policy priorities. “There is significant historical precedent in the US for this idea,” he writes. “New technologies regularly lead to the formulation of new government agencies. Trains did. Cars did. Airplanes did. The invention of radio led to the formation of the Federal Radio Commission, which became the Federal Communications Commission. … The value of a single agency is considerable. The alternative is to craft Internet+ policy ad hoc and piecemeal, in a way that adds complexity and doesn’t counter emerging threats.”

Regulation is inevitable. Regulation is problematic. A largely regulation-free tech industry may soon be a thing of the past, Schneier writes. And there are lots of reasons why he sees regulation on the horizon. One reason is that Internet+ security is public safety issue — and that tends to get governments’ attention. But he also worries regulation will be problematic and could hamper the speed at which tech companies innovate. “We don’t want to—and can’t—stop technological progress, but we can make deliberate choices between technological futures, or speed up or delay certain technologies with respect to the others.”

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