Einstein 3: The Return of George W. Bush

Michael C. Moynihan | July 2, 2009

Another entry in the "same as the old boss" file, from The Washington Post:

The Obama administration will proceed with a Bush-era plan to use National Security Agency assistance in screening government computer traffic on private-sector networks, with AT&T as the likely test site, according to three current and former government officials.

President Obama said in May that government efforts to protect computer systems from attack would not involve "monitoring private sector networks or Internet traffic" and Department of Homeland Security officials say that the new program will only scrutinize data going to or from government systems.

But the program has provoked debate within DHS, the current and former officials said, because of uncertainty over whether private data can be shielded from unauthorized scrutiny, how much of a role NSA should play and whether the agency's involvement in warrantless wiretapping under the Bush administration would draw controversy.

"We absolutely intend to use the technical resources, the substantial ones, that NSA has. But . . . they will be guided, led, and in a sense directed by the people we have at the Department of Homeland Security," the department's secretary, Janet Napolitano, told reporters in a discussion of cybersecurity efforts.

Under a classified pilot program approved during the Bush administration, NSA data and hardware would be used to protect the networks of some civilian government agencies. Part of an initiative known as Einstein 3, the pilot called for telecommunications companies to route the Internet traffic of civilian government agencies through a monitoring box that would search for and block malicious computer codes.

Full article. Back in February, I noted the early similiarties between Obama and Bush's foreign policy visions.

Comments

Ratdog|7.2.09 @ 7:23PM|#

Jesus f&@king Christ, I thought I'd escaped Napolitano's bullcrap by leaving Arizona, now she's following me.

|7.2.09 @ 7:52PM|#

I'm starting to notice a bit of a trend.

Paul|7.2.09 @ 7:57PM|#

"We absolutely intend to use the technical resources, the substantial ones, that NSA has. But . . . they will be guided, led, and in a sense directed by the people we have at the Department of Homeland Security,"

AKA: The right people are now in charge. So you can go back to sleep.

|7.2.09 @ 8:17PM|#

they will be guided, led, and in a sense directed

So, is Janet moonlighting at the Department of Redundancy Department?

B|7.2.09 @ 8:30PM|#

Shit, is the president's whole fucking strategy to incorporate all the shit he condemned while running for office so that we can finally see who the real Obama sycophants are who refuse to condemn him no matter what? Pretty soon he is going to be "coming around" to the prospect of taxing employee health benefits.

Is there any fucking promise this piece of shit failure of a president intends to keep, or is he that hell-bent on seeing the Republicans retake the House in 2010?

|7.2.09 @ 8:58PM|#

You know, I'm beginning to think that the episode of South Park was right. Or else that Obama is just Bush in blackface. Has anyone seen Bush since he left the White House? Anyone?

jtuf|7.2.09 @ 9:19PM|#

So the government is setting the stage for censoring any internet communication that a computer can read.

FFFFFF.....UUU.....UUU......CCCCCCC......KKK....KKK
FFF.........UUU.....UUU......CCCCCCC......KKK..KKK
FFFFFF.....UUU.....UUU......CCC............KKK.KKK
FFF.........UUU.....UUU......CCC............KKKKK
FFF.........UUU.....UUU......CCCCCCC......KKK..KKK
FFF.........UUUUUUUUU......CCCCCCC......KKK....KKK

shrike|7.2.09 @ 9:19PM|#

B-

Your guy was a sinking turd for 8 years. Your red-neckery idiot life stalls your appreciation of markets.

Bushillisimo was a fucking 8 year sinkhole for the markets. I know you supp at the alter of market fundie shit, but you are way over your head here.

I know - you are some sort conservative Bible beater - no water here bro.

Follow the lead of the markets - Buffett, Soros, Jobs, Allen, Gates, Woz, the Google guys, Ellison, and other top capital boys go to Obama...

Ohh - but that gets in your aborto-freak ideology - the one that pushes laws on us unwilling...

Shove it up your ass, redneck. I will support the ACLU and your Constitutional rights to such.

You fucking tampon.

|7.2.09 @ 9:56PM|#

So the government shouldn't be inspecting all the traffic coming to or from its networks? All this does is link them together so that they can get a good picture of what is happening and if it is hitting multiple agencies/departments. The whole Einstein thing is nothing really of interest here....

|7.2.09 @ 11:04PM|#

shrike, did you misspell your nick? Shouldn't it read shriek? That would seem to be more appropriate to your posting style.

|7.2.09 @ 11:38PM|#

Silentz, stop ripping off my jokes.

|7.3.09 @ 12:33AM|#

Must've missed that one Epi

Brent Royal-Gordon|7.3.09 @ 3:01AM|#

To be fair, the NSA has always had two missions. One is to read everyone else's communications; the other is to keep everyone else from reading our communications. This isn't really much of an expansion of their powers.

Now, if those boxes end up listening to civilian non-governmental traffic on those networks, that's a different story...

Mike M.|7.3.09 @ 10:26AM|#

Is there any fucking promise this piece of shit failure of a president intends to keep, or is he that hell-bent on seeing the Republicans retake the House in 2010?

His real strategy is to try and destroy the country, or bring it to such a level of crisis that he can establish himself as a de facto dictator before that happens.

|7.3.09 @ 10:58AM|#

...the real Obama sycophants are who refuse to condemn him no matter what?

The guy who quit FOREVAR because Reason was critical of Obama would be one of these.

You will not convince people like him that Obama is anything but black Jesus.

JB|7.3.09 @ 1:27PM|#

You will not convince people like him that Obama is anything but black Jesus.

Who needs to convince him? We know how to deal with zombies.

Steven|7.5.09 @ 5:22PM|#

I remember it was not that long ago I was being told by Reason just how awesome Obama is, and why I should vote for him and not McCain...

How is that working out?