Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Why we should get rid of it
Read more about the 2015 proposed changes
The proposed CFAA changes:
Other relevant reading: (Thank you datagrim)
White House Press Release http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/13/securing-cyberspace-president-obama-announces-new-cybersecurity-legislat
White House "FACT SHEET: Cybersecurity Legislative Proposal" www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/12/fact-sheet-cybersecurity-legislative-proposal
Letters to House of Representatives and Senate on the Administration’s cybersecurity proposal (4 pages, 1.04 mb kb)
Updated Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Authority and Information Sharing (7 pages, 185 kb)
- Section by Section Analysis (3 pages, 162 kb)
Updated Law Enforcement Provisions Related to Computer Security (11 pages, 269 kb)
Section by Section Analysis (2 pages, 95 kb)
Updated Data Breach Notification (9 pages, 250 kb)
Section by Section Analysis (5 pages, 242 kb)
Text of the State of the Union
This is not the exact proposal but this is some of what is being said to justify the changes.
"No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids. We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism. And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information. If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe."
First off, every politician seems to toss in ""protect our children" for good measure so let's take that with a grain of salt.
"invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids." - you have heard about the waranteless overreaching government surveillance, and all the programs Snowden exposed yes? The government is being more invasive than any hacker to our privacy.
"we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable" - Well the proposals actually would eliminate some jobs, and leave more companies open to being breached-which lead to economic losses. This also would reduce the already thin pipeline the government hires it's syber security people from, and will potentially decrease their skills as well leaving our nation moer vulnerable.
"No foreign nation" - these proposed measures effect purely domestic targets.
The full text of the speech can be found here: https://medium.com/@WhiteHouse/president-obamas-state-of-the-union-address-remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-55f9825449b2