Oct 28, 2010 8:00am
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A high-ranking Homeland Security official
says the agency will protect Americans' civil liberties and privacy while it
partners with the military to protect the nation's computer networks.
An agreement with the military announced two weeks ago "in no way changes
our respective departments' promises to protect civil liberties and
privacy," Rear Adm. Michael Brown said Wednesday at the National Symposium
on Homeland Security and Defense in Colorado Springs.
Brown is assigned to Homeland Security as assistant secretary for
cybersecurity and communications.
His boss, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, is scheduled to
address the symposium on Thursday.
Homeland Security announced Oct. 13 that computer experts from the
supersecret National Security Agency, part of the Defense Department, will
work with DHS to protect the computer networks that have become the backbone
of financial, communication and transportation systems.
That agreement raised concerns among civil liberties groups, who said
safeguards would be needed to protect citizens' civil rights.
Brown said the partnership won't infringe on civil rights or expand the
military's role.
"The agreement does not give the military authority to operate inside the
U.S. in the event of a cyber attack," he said. "What it does do is formalize
the process by which DOD and DHS will work together to protect the nation's
cybernetworks and increases the clarity of focus of our respective roles and
responsibilities."
