Part D

Solutions to Problems Arising from the Issue

There are many solutions to the problems that arose in part C. One of these solutions is to only allow the President to have the power to shut down the private sector computers instead of having another group of people do it for him. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for “cybersecurity professionals,” and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license (Adams 2009). Allowing other people to shut down the private sector computers when the bill specifically says that it is only the President’s authority to do so is breaking the law and to have the President do it instead will be more efficient. If the President was to be properly trained then the extra people that are currently used as “cybersecurity professionals” need not be there any longer.

Also another solution to one of the problems that arose was that the language of the bill made companies timid. “As soon as you’re saying that the federal government is going to be exercising this kind of power over private networks, it’s going to be a really big issue” (Adams 2009). Probably the most controversial language begins in Section 201, which permits the president to “direct the national response to the cyber threat” if necessary for “the national defense and security.” The White House is supposed to engage in “periodic mapping” of private networks deemed to be critical, and those companies “shall share” requested information with the federal government (Reich 2009). The language of the bill can have a number of relatively easy solutions. One is that a new draft of the bill is formed with language more suitable to companies ears and this is due to the fact that the language in the old one frightened them into thinking that the President would be watching over their companies 24 hours 7 days a week, when really it meant that he would periodically check in to see how and what the company was doing. Another example is to have the President address the issue himself, describing all the benefits associated with his new ability to shut down private sector computers such as national defense and national security.