Morning Security Brief: Cybersecurity Bill, Cyberinsecurity at DHS, Caribbean Basin Security, Canadian False Alarm, & Rights

♦ New cybersecurity legislation introduced by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Thomas Carper (D-DE) would give the White House emergency authority to take over civilian computer networks under cyberattack. According to Lieberman, reports CNN.com, "the president could order a patch or tell a cyber network to stop receiving incoming data from a particular country when critical infrastructure in the private sector such as the electrical grid or financial grid is threatened or attacked. A company that complies with the order would be given immunity from any liability for any consequences of the action." Collins added that the legislation does not give the government new surveillance powers over civilian networks.

♦ The Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog has issued a report stating the agency's computer network is insecure. "A report by the Office of Inspector General said the DHS does not have the appropriate level of security on its network, nor is it properly validating the security of systems from outside the firewall that are connecting to it," reports Information Week. "Auditors reviewed the Microsoft Windows Active Directory services the DHS uses to manage users, groups, systems, and services on its main network and found that 'systems within the headquarters' enterprise Active Directory domain are not fully compliant with the department's security guidelines,' according to the report."

♦ The Obama administration will deliver an aid package to Caribbean countries to help them fight drug and weapons trafficking. Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled the $124 million Caribbean Basin Security Initiative during a regional meeting of of foreign ministers in Barbados. "The program augments similar U.S. cooperation efforts in Mexico, Central America and Colombia and helps Caribbean countries deal with any increase in crime that results from successes there," reports the Associated Press. "Caribbean islands had one of their bloodiest years on record in 2009 as they battled drug-fueled crime, with Jamaica, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico hitting or coming close to all-time highs for homicides."

♦ A large purchase of fertilizer by a mysterious man set off a counterterrorism search throughout Canada in the run up to the G8 and G20 summits with police taking to the airwaves to elicit the public's help. It was a false alarm. "By nightfall, the appeal for help had worked," The Globe and Mail report. "The mystery man himself contacted police, who determined that “nothing nefarious” had taken place, in the words of one detective. Police did not identify the mystery man, but suggested he had been found and that he had wanted the substance only for growing plants."

♦ The head judge of the United Kingdom's Supreme Court rebuked critics this week who argue human rights law hampers the ability of the government to fight terrorism. In a lecture this week at Gresham College, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, according to the Guardian, defended "the judiciary in light of their regular use of the Human Rights Act to limit the effects of the anti-terrorism laws enacted by the government in the past decade." Analyzing the present conflict with jihadist terrorism, Philips said, "The so called 'war against terrorism' is not so much a military as an ideological battle. Respect for human rights is a key weapon in that ideological battle."