[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
(Fwd) President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protec
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 14:22:28 -0800 (PST)
From: Phil Agre <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection
Reply-to: [email protected]
[I got a call inviting me to participate in the Los Angeles hearing of
this thing. It's always hard to tell whether you have a chance to affect
their thinking or whether you're just letting them claim to have consulted
widely before they release their already-written report. I wasn't able
to return their messages right away because I'm on the move and can't find
a payphone that's programmed to let me call them back at their 888 number.
(Argh! Finding a free Internet terminal to send this message, however,
was no problem.) They tell me that the Los Angeles hearing is on Thursday,
so if you (unlike me) don't have a job or something and want to give them a
firm but polite piece of your mind, you might be interested in showing up.]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE).
Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below.
You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use
the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions
for (un)subscribing, send an empty message to [email protected]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 1997 08:10:14 -0800 (PST)
From: "Brock N. Meeks" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: CWD--Searching for Toto
CyberWire Dispatch // Copyright 1997 // March 1997
Jacking in from the "Man Behind the Curtain" port:
Here... March This
by Lewis Koch
CWD Special Correspondent
Chicago --You better not hack, better not phreak -- The
President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection
[http://www.pccip.gov] is coming to town.
This behind closed doors Commission holds the key to America's
most precious civil liberty chastity belt: Privacy. And now
it's going on tour. That right, the Commission is coming to a
town near you, a dog-and-pony road trip whose tour jackets are
read: MADE in the NSA.
The Commission's goal during the tour is to hear from the people,
to collect ideas about how to protect the critical infrastructure
from... from... why the newest threat (ominous music) to our
national well being now that the Sovs are gone, Saddam's waiting
for a bullet and the Chicoms are turning capitalists -- (scary
music swells) - "cyber-terrorists" attacking our so-called
"critical infrastructures" through devious computer hacking
raids. Honest.
And yet, even as members of the Commission smile politely and nod
their graying heads, they are busy trying to figure out (read:
Justify) just how to rewrite U.S. laws which would lift, or at least
modify, the decades old ban that keeps our nation's top spooks
from the National Security Agency from gathering intelligence on
you and me.
Which is not to say these kats don't have an ironic sense of
humor. One of their first public debuts will be in San Francisco
during next week's Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference. Of
course, if you can make it to CFP, you might try the Los Angeles,
California, Public Works Hearing Room, City Hall, room 350,
third floor, starting at 10 a.m. and if you can't grok with the
freaks in L.A. or the cypherpunks in San Francisco, perhaps you
can make it to Commission's other scheduled stops in Atlanta,
Houston, St. Louis or Boston. (Call now, operators are standing
by, 202-828-8869, ask for Liz.)
Between all his strenuous fund raising efforts, President Clinton
last July found the time to form a this Commission to inquire
into the question of whether this nation has protected its
precious physical and cyber innards, namely electric power, gas
and oil, telecommunications, banking and finance, transportation,
water supply, emergency services, and of course, continuity of
government services, and...the Internet.
By this time the Government has caught on to the fact that the
Internet is no longer a fun toy for academics and young people
but rather but serious business for people who bustle around or
sleep over at the White House. There is money to be made on the
Net, power to be wielded.
There are also some big bucks to be spent, billions maybe, on
what will almost certainly be efforts to "make things safe" from
cyberterrorism.
The most important job this Commission, however, will be to
direct attention away from the real issues: who was/is
responsible for developing weak, vulnerable infrastructures in
this country in the first place. (Pay no attention to the men
behind the curtain, the men who built the crumbling
infrastructures of Internet Central in the first place.)
Second, while it would be foolish to deny that problems exists
with thieves who use computers and cyberspace, where some child
pornography and a whole hell of a lot of money laundering takes
place, cyberspace is merely a reflection of society, the good and
the bad and a lot in between.
What then, do "cyber threats "actually look like? Who might
carry them out. How? Where? And who will lead the effort to
gather, collate, fold and staple all this valuable information?
A recognized Internet expert? Someone with extensive experience
in networks and cross-platform computing? Nope... not for Bill
Clinton. Just wouldn't do.
No, sir, what we need to combat terrorism is, well, a goddamn,
real life combat veteran, by gwad! Enter Robert T. March,
chairman of this Infrastructure Protection Task Force. You can
call him "Bob" or simply "The General" will do because, well,
that's what he did most of his life and besides, it has a real
nice ring to it.
The executive order creating this Commission states that the
chairman be "from outside the Federal government," which Marsh
is, technically, since he retired from the military in 1989. He
still collects his "inside" the Federal government military
retirement pay though. Question is, do you want someone who
might played a part creating the mess, now deciding how to fix
it?
The background information on General Marsh is kinda skimpy, at
least for someone who spent the vast majority of his adult life,
rising to the rank of General. He's 73, a West Point graduate,
a resident Alexandria, a tony Virginia suburb a stone's throw
from Washington, D.C.
"His last assignment was serving as the commander of the Air
Force Systems Command, where he directed the research,
development, test and acquisition of aerospace systems for the
Air Force," reads his brief bio on the Web page. So we can at
least legitimately guess that he was heavy into some kinds of
high tech R&D and Procurement stuff, pushing paper and awarding
big time contracts.
It seems that following his retirement, Marsh marched right back
into research, development, test and acquisition, only, well, on
the other side.
"He served as the first chairman of Thiokol Corp
[http://www.thiokol.com/]," his bio reads, "as it transitioned
from Morton -Thiokol in 1989 to separate company status."
(Remember the Challenger Disaster in 1986?
[http://www.fas.org/spp/51L.html] Can you spell O-rings? If you
click on the company's Web page history section,
[http://www.thiokol.com/History/History.htm#HistoryOfCompany]
this seems to be a non-event. Could there have been two
Morton-Thiokol companies?)
Marsh is a very active senior, serving on the board and as a
stockholder active in a surprising number of other high tech
ventures, some or all of which could conceivably wind up
providing all kinds of high priced of technical goodies to combat
bad guys bent on physical and cyber destruction of our dear,
up-until-now unprotected infrastructures.
And according to public information office of the Commission,
Marsh intends on keeping his corporate goodies "but at a reduced
compensation" because he was merely "designated" by the President
-- which in White House jargon means...whatever the hell one
wants it to mean-- as long as you don't have to give up the stock
and the options and the director's fees (Being "designated"
means never having to say I'm sorry.).
Marsh also has strong ties to CAE Electronics,
[http://www.cae.ca/cae_electronics_inc/cae_electronics_inc.html]
a new U.S. company which markets high tech stuff. CAE has a
Canadian papa, which, among the high tech goodies it markets are
"Air Traffic Management Systems" and "Engineering and Software
Support for Weapons Systems." So, having someone on the
Director's payroll in the States, someone with 35 years of
experience in the United States Air Force, makes good, er,
business sense.
Marsh also owns 40,000 shares and makes $8,000.00 a year plus
expenses for his directorship in Teknowledge,
[http://www.teknowledge.com/company/company.html] a Palo Alto
high tech firm parked behind a fence and leafy trees.
Teknowledge is very interested in communications and the
Department of Defense. Here is how the company describes some of
what it does:
"Since the DoD and many commercial businesses plan to conduct
large-scale operations over international computer networks
similar to the Internet, much of the Teknowledge's current and
future project focus is in providing network associate systems to
make access to knowledge easier, and network accelerators to make
knowledge access over networks faster and more cost effective."
So, we're taking marketing here, not rocket science; it's easy
to see how Teknowledge might be a "good fit" for any computer
infrastructure "hardening" contracts. Cyberwarriors already
have a name for it: "Minimum Essential Information Infrastructure (MEII)
also known as "emergency lanes on the information highway."
Marsh is also a director of Comverse Government Systems
Corp.[http://www.cis.comverse.com/]. Among the things that
Comverse makes are digital monitoring systems for law enforcement
and intelligence agencies. Oh? Yes. Digital wiretapping,
monitoring, as in...why...yes...of course. The perfect party
gift for the FBI in search of the hackers who put on those nasty
things on the Justice Department Web site.
Marsh also is a trustee of MITRE Corp, which, we see
[http://www.fast.org/irp/contract/m.htm], is into air defense and
other command, control, communications, and intelligence systems
used by Department of Defense clients. The company's ties to the
defense intelligence community go back to the late 1950, with
project code names such as HAVE STARE and STEEL TRAP.
And when the General takes his World Tour back home D.C. will we
ever see it's findings? The Commission isn't bound by the
Freedom of Information Act, so we don't have those thumb screws
to turn. However, the Commission is governed by the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, which, in part, is there to "to open to
public scrutiny the manner in which government agencies obtain
advise from private individuals." Of course, this situation
being one of vital national security interest, cyber-terrorists
and all tha t, don't expect a flood of documents and sunshine
from the General.
Apart from the General, there's an interesting internal conflict
on the Commission. You see, though it's headed by a "civilian,"
it's run by the FBI, which doesn't get along with the CIA and
neither get along with all that well with the NSA. It's a
schizophrenic role for the FBI, to be sure. Actually, there are
people in the FBI who at least know the right questions to ask,
that's a start. The problem is whether their questions can be
heard over the din of furious, clueless answers shouted out by
Dir. Louis Freeh, James Kallestrom and others in their own agency.
So, come on out and give the General a few choice thoughts... and
don't forget to call to reserve your spot in line... government
operators are standing by, ahem, from the hours of 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. EST only, of course.
But hurry, this country is not sold in stores.
---------------------------------
Lewis Koch <[email protected]>KS
**********************************************************************
Charles Anthony
612 871 4090
http://www.info-nation.com
http://www.info-nation.com/rates.html