CyberSecurity: Is China Friend or Foe?

U.S. counterterrorism officials are trying to find out if China will be an ally in preventing cyber terrrorism, according to the Australian media:

The United States is fighting wars of attrition in Afghanistan and Iraq and chasing al-Qaeda's terrorist shadow across the globe, but it is a very different kind of warfare that keeps the Pentagon's No. 2 man William Lynn awake at night.

Cyber warfare, a battlefield without sovereign borders and populated by non-traditional foes, is the new frontier in which the US and allies such as Australia are wrestling to maintain their defences and identify their adversaries. For Mr Lynn, the US Deputy Secretary of Defence, it is unclear whether China, the rising superpower, is an ally or an adversary.

''The jury is still out … We would like to see China, given the strength of its economy and importance the nation plays in the world stage, be a constructive actor in the cyber arena as in every other way. It's very important to the success of any countering of the cyber threat that they do play that role,'' Mr Lynn said, in an interview with the Herald in Sydney.

The US internet giant Google said last month that it had been subject to cyber attacks originating in China. Many believe these were carried out by hackers under the direction of Chinese security forces. The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, called on China to investigate the Google intrusions.

Administration Considers Flexibility on KSM Trial

The administration may be laying the groundwork for some major backpedaling:

The Obama administration prefers a civilian trial for the alleged 9/11 mastermind, but says that in the face of public and political opposition it must be open to a military tribunal.

In an interview published Monday in The New York Times, Attorney General Eric Holder said, "I have to be more forceful in advocating for why I believe these are trials that should be held on the civilian side."

However, Holder did not rule out a military trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, saying, "You have to be flexible." [AP]

As we have pointed out previously, Holder should have recused himself from this entire transaction given that his former law firm represented various detainees.

And administration officials have repeatedly claimed that KSM will be found guilty. Doesn't that taint the jury pool?

Net Neutrality: Government-Run Internet

America does not want government-run healthcare. With the same gusto, most online users--once they get wind of it--reject a proposed government plan to takeover the Internet. BigGovernment.com has an excellent piece on this latest form of federal overreach:

Net neutrality rules enforced by the Federal Communications Commission would allow government bureaucrats to micromanage the Internet — thus sucking out the lifeblood of the digital economy and threatening the dynamism and freedom we’ve come to take for granted online...

The digital economy is currently so dynamic and cutthroat that free-market forces work quickly to correct any undesirable hiccups that arise — all without any micro-managing of the tech industry by government.

Net neutrality advocates insist we need government to preserve an “open” and “free” Internet and claim the market has failed. But they cannot point to any market failures that make the Internet less open or free. In short, the Internet isn’t broken. And it doesn’t need a government fix

The Heartland Institute created an excellent video (which was embeded the BigGovernment article) on net neutrality: