Industry Backlash Against Surveillance Jeopardizes Cybersecurity

The private sector’s distrust of the National Security Agency following domestic spying revelations could undermine efforts to secure systems running utilities and other vital US industries, former federal civilian and military officials say.

NSA, maker of arguably the best encryption tools to protect data, now is attracting more attention for decrypting everyone else’s data, after disclosures by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden of massive Internet surveillance. Traditionally, private industry has counted on NSA's cybersecurity expertise for incident response, even though a 2003 presidential directive assigned the Homeland Security Department the primary job of securing key US sectors. Cybersecurity legislation, which had been under negotiation for years, now is on indefinite hold because floor debate would hyperfocus on NSA to the detriment of everything else, most cyber observers say. Many of those critical infrastructure firms might shun any government help, former officials said. Going forward, private cyber forensics firms and nonprofit research institutes could see increased demand.