From: The Washington Post/The Switch
By Brian Fung
Until now, fighting hackers has mainly been the domain of law enforcement, intelligence services and the military. But the Federal Communications Commission, an agency better known for approving wireless mergers and regulating phone companies, intends to create a vastly expanded role for itself on cybersecurity, current and former agency officials say.
The exact nature of that role has yet to be decided, the officials said. Options range from helping telecommunications companies implement a major cybersecurity framework released Wednesday by the Obama administration to writing new rules on network reliability. In addition, the commission may lean on a recent federal court decision on net neutrality to pursue other forms of national security-related oversight.
Recent attacks on retailers, banks and other institutions have drawn regulators’ attention to the security of servers, networks and industrial systems. In the case of the FCC, cybersecurity means maintaining the integrity of the telecom links between those systems, as well as making sure first-responder communications remain functional in a crisis. At the same time, other technological advances have made regulating some communications companies more difficult. By staking a claim on cybersecurity, the FCC stands to reclaim some of its bureaucratic authority.
The FCC’s interest in network security dates back to 2009, when then-chairman Julius Genachowski appointed James Barnett, a retired Navy rear admiral, to head the commission’s public safety bureau. Barnett created the FCC’s Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division and launched three programs in coordination with broadband providers to, among other things, fight botnets and prevent e-mails from being hijacked and rerouted to foreign countries.
But what’s coming next under FCC chairman Tom Wheeler will be an even broader effort to secure the nation’s communications from online attack, said Barnett in an interview.
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