Lieberman ‘Open’ to Giving NSA Authority to Monitor U.S. Networks

Lieberman, who is the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, referenced a Washington Post report that said the White House had rebuffed NSA efforts to continuously scan U.S. Internet traffic for computer threat data. “This debate was going on totally within the administration because there was never a proposal in our committee to do that,” he told us before the Senate Democratic caucus luncheon. “I reached out to them and asked to get a briefing from Gen. [Keith] Alexander to find out exactly what he thinks he needs, because in the meetings I've been in, with the administration generally, this has never really come up.” Gen. Alexander is the director of the National Security Agency, chief of the Central Security Service and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command.

Lieberman acknowledged there may be privacy concerns with such a proposal but said he’s still interested in speaking to NSA officials about it: “I know there would probably be a lot of concern with privacy and civil liberties if the National Security Agency is involved but to me this is a defensive operation to defend private sector cybersecurity that really runs the most critical parts of our society today that we all depend on, finance, transportation, and electricity. So I'm interested in speaking to them.”

ACLU legislative counsel Michelle Richardson previously told us she thought it is a “massive red flag” for the NSA to be a recipient of U.S. Internet usage data. “You really upset the balance of power by inserting the military into this,” she said after Lieberman’s S-2105 was released. Civilian agencies like DHS, on the other hand, have “all sorts of checks and balances. They are more accountable and generally less secretive."

Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member John McCain, R-Ariz., opposed the cybersecurity bill proposed by Sens. Lieberman, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, because he said it “backtracks” on an earlier budget authorization amendment which codifies an existing cybersecurity memorandum between DHS and the Defense Department. McCain said before the President’s Day recess he planned to introduce alternative cybersecurity legislation after recess, along with Republicans Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas, Chuck Grassley, Iowa, Saxby Chambliss, Ga., Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, Jeff Sessions, Ala., and Mike Enzi, Wyo.

Lieberman told us he had spoken to McCain about the alternative bill and was optimistic they could “sit down and see if we could work something out.” “We both agree … that we have a real homeland security problem because we are vulnerable to cyberattack,” Lieberman said. “Our government websites are better defended but the private sector owns a lot of critical infrastructure that is not well defended. So hopefully when they put the bill in, it will lead to some discussion so we can have an agreement to get something done.”

Separately Collins walked back her earlier comments that it was “irresponsible” for McCain to delay the Cybersecurity Act over agency “turf battles” between DHS and DOD. “I wouldn’t describe it as a turf battle,” Collins told us before the Senate Republican caucus luncheon: “There are different views.” Collins also tried to dismiss efforts to cast the cybersecurity debate as a partisan spat: “I wouldn’t call [the cybersecurity alternative] a Republican version. I'm a Republican last time I checked.” McCain wasn’t at the luncheon and didn’t respond to our request for comment.