National Security Agency Leader Calls for More Control Over the Internet

By David Tobia
September 7, 2012

General Keith Alexander, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and head of the National Security Agency, stresses the importance of an Internet infrastructure redesign. He wants automatic triggers to help the NSA track hacking efforts against both public and private infrastructure.
Alexander emphasizes denial of service attacks — a common tactic used by groups like Anonymous to disrupt websites. “My concern is that it’s going to flow into destructive attacks that could have consequences for our critical national infrastructure and the Internet itself,” he notes.
The Internet is currently a web of independent networks. This makes it difficult for agencies like the NSA to easily track activity and catch offenders.
The NSA has implemented a plan to help prevent attacks, including development of the Defense Industrial Base Cyber Pilot to automatically alert the agency when a company’s security has been breached.
Many people are critical of the NSA and their attempts to control the Internet. Alexander dismisses these privacy concerns, explaining that when “you go down the highway, and you go down the EZ Pass lane, what you’re doing is sending that code. That system is not looking in your car, reading the e-mail, or intercepting anything, it’s just getting that code.”

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