A Cybersecurity Hotline?

Britain In Talks On Cybersecurity Hotline With China And Russia -- The Guardian

Existing protocols not robust enough for emergencies that could materialise in cyberspace, says Foreign Office official

Britain has begun tentative talks with China and Russia about setting up a hotline to help prevent cyber-emergencies from spiralling out of control.

The discussions are at an early stage but they reflect anxiety from all sides that a calamity in cyberspace, whether deliberate or accidental, could have devastating consequences unless there is a quick and reliable way for senior officials to reach each other.

The US has been talking to the Chinese about a similar arrangement and the ideas will be among several raised at an international conference on cybersecurity in Hungary on Thursday.

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Update: Hague calls for global deal over cyber emergencies -- The Independent

My Comment:These discussions are still in the early stages .... but considering how important the digital economy is becoming, it will not surprise me to see such a "hotline" in place in the next few years.

The U.S. Digital Economy Is Now Worth $2 Trillion A Year

Bravo New York Times For Discovering Reality in 'Power, Pollution and The Internet' -- Forbes

This past Sunday, investigative journalists at The New York Times created something of a furor in the dweeb-o-sphere with a lengthy article titled Power, Pollution and the Internet: The Cloud Factories.

“A yearlong examination by The New York Times has revealed that [the] foundation of the information industry is sharply at odds with its image of sleek efficiency and environmental friendliness.”

The Times’ journalists uncovered the ‘shocking’ fact that the Internet, from Facebook and Instagram, to iCloud and Amazon, is only possible because behind the sleek Galaxies, iPhones and iPads lurks a truly massive physical infrastructure. Warehouse-scale buildings that dwarf a typical Wal-Mart store, chock full of hot microprocessors. And they all consume enormous quantities of energy too. Go figure.

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My Comment: The U.S. digital economy is worth $2 trillion .... now you know why issues like cyber-security, cyber-attacks, cyber-war, etc. are important and need to be discussed all the time.

Will President Obama Issue An Executive Order On Cybersecurity?

Obama Faces Delicate Decision as Cyberattack Fears Rise -- National Journal

Experts urge action, but the politics of cybersecurity can be tricky.

At the height of the economic crisis in 2008, Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” comedy news show rolled out the character Oscar Rogers as a faux financial commentator. His advice on how to restore the economy? “Fix it! It needs to be fixed! Now!”

Four years later, lawmakers are grappling with a cybercrisis, and despite rising concerns, legislative debates over how to secure U.S. networks and infrastructure have often resembled nothing so much as Oscar Rogers yelling “Fix it!”

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My Comment: I never like the idea of this President or any other President circumventing Congress .... the precedent that it establishes all but guarantees abuses and problems in the future.