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Ellen Nakashima and Jon Cohen report on a recent Washington Post poll on cybersecurity reform. Some numbers: 39 percent of Americans favor a government mandate for specific standards in U.S. companies; 28 percent prefer encouraging, but not mandating standards by the government; and 26 percent want the government to "stay out of it entirely."
Spotted: SecDef Panetta in India, reaffirming the U.S. plan to continue using drone strikes against terrorist suspects; SecDef Panetta in Kabul, as Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemns Wednesday's strikes that Afghanistan claims killed 18 civilians.
Scott Shane at the New York Times discusses the debate sparked by new information leaked about the U.S. role in the Stuxnet virus and the Obama administration's "kill list." Senator John McCain is displeased with what he considers using national security leaks for political gain, and had a lot to say about that yesterday. Jeremy Herb at The Hill covers the senator's statement, and Ed O'Keefe in the Washington Post reports on the senator's Senate floor speech on Tuesday on the same topic.
The House and Senate committees responsible for intelligence community oversight will be drafting new laws regarding leaking classified information, writes Greg Miller in the Post. And Michael Shear in the Times says that hearings will also be held. Read the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence's statement on the leaks.
Outgoing Congressman Dennis Kucinich has this op-ed in the Huffington Post on the need for Congress to assert its authority in the realm of counterterrorism. He writes:
Congress must reassert its constitutional authority and conduct proper oversight of government's "counterterrorism" policies regardless of the technology being used. Cyberweapons and unmanned drones must be subject to the same laws, oversight and accountability as so-called "convention weapons." It is time for Congress to weigh in and work to create a legal framework which reflects the changing face of modern-day warfare in order to protect the United States Constitution, our citizens and the long-term security of our nation.The Muslim Advocates, an advocacy group, has filed a lawsuit challenging the NYPD surveillance program, reports Jurist. Pfc. Bradley Manning's trial resumes this week, and defense lawyers plan to call several employees of the State Department as witnesses, writes David Dishneau of the AP. The New York Daily News reports on Abu Bakr al-Qayed's remarks about the death of his brother, Abu Yahya al Libi earlier this week. Brian Palmer talks in Slate about how to shoot down a drone. And Boeing is testing a new drone prototype that is controlled by a computer and propelled by liquid hydrogen (automatic and green!). DHS unveiled a new strategy for improving security along the U.S.-Canada border on Tuesday. Chuck Neubauer at the Washington Times has the story. Looks like Guantanamo detainees might be getting new photos taken of them for their families, reports Carol Rosenberg at the Miami Herald. Each service will be determining what punishment, if any, to dole out to those troops who participated in the burning of Korans in Kandahar. Carlo Munoz at The Hill has the story. For more interesting law and security-related articles, follow us on Twitter, visit the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law’s Security Law Brief, Fordham Law’s Center on National Security’s Morning Brief, and Fordham Law’s Cyber Brief. Email us noteworthy articles we may have missed at wakeman.lawfare@gmail.com and singh.lawfare@gmail.com.
Raffaela Wakeman is a Senior Director at In-Q-Tel. She started her career at the Brookings Institution, where she spent five years conducting research on national security, election reform, and Congress. During this time she was also the Associate Editor of Lawfare. From there, Raffaela practiced law at the U.S. Department of Defense for four years, advising her clients on privacy and surveillance law, cybersecurity, and foreign liaison relationships. She departed DoD in 2019 to join the Majority Staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s science and technology portfolios, cybersecurity, and surveillance activities. She left HPSCI in May 2021 to join IQT.
Raffaela received her BS and MS in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, where she was recognized for her commitment to public service with the Joyce Chiang Memorial Award. While at the Department of Defense, she was the inaugural recipient of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s General Counsel Award for exhibiting the highest standards of leadership, professional conduct, and integrity.
