- In speaking with the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder backed the judicial determination that the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance programs are legal, according to the Miami Herald. However, AG Holder emphasized the true debate, one not over legality, but over proper use of authority. “[J]ust because we can do something, should we do it?” he is quoted as saying.
- While we’re on the topic, today Baard Vegar Solhjell, a member of Norwegian parliament, nominated Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, Reuters reports. In a joint statement released by Solhjell and Snorre Valen, the pair stated:
There is no doubt that the actions of Edward Snowden may have damaged the security interests of several nations in the short term. We are, however, convinced that the public debate and changes in policy that have followed in the wake of Snowden’s whistle blowing has contributed to a more peaceful [and] stable . . . world order.”
- Fars News recently reported that, according to Iran’s Head of Civil Defense Organization, Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, and Iranian Oil Minister, Bijan Zanganeh, the oil ministry’s preparedness to combat cyber attacks must be strengthened, especially given the importance of the industry to the country’s economy and energy supply. In “scrutiniz[ing]” the industry’s cyber capabilities, as Fars News terms it, Jalali and Zanganeh noted the “wide-scale” cyber attacks on Iranian facilities beginning in 2010 with Stuxnet.
- A few weeks ago, India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the use of NTRO, a technical spying agency, as the lead agency for securing the IT infrastructures of vital private entities, such as those that supply power and transportation, Hindustan Times reports. Concerns were raised about “handing this key role to an intelligence body that is not subject to checks and balances,” but National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon led the charge and pushed the proposal through.
- Here’s an update on the NSA overhaul from Lawfare Blog:
Late last year, as one of the fall outs from the Snowden disclosures, the NSA announced its intention to fill a completely new office — a civil liberties and privacy officer who would serve as a direct adviser to the Director of NSA. Civil libertarians are skeptical and I think it is fair to say that the job will be quite a difficult one for the selectee — Rebecca “Becky” Richards who is leaving the DHS Privacy Office to start her new job at NSA next month.
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