Ex-Canadian Army chief warns of increased gov’t control in cyberspace
In case you haven’t been following it, the Twitter traffic from today’s Cyber Dialogue 2013 at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs featured a great quote from a recently retired Canadian general. Lt. Gen. Andrew Leslie (chief of the Canadian Army from 2006 to 2010, shown above in 2009) apparently made a ...
In case you haven't been following it, the Twitter traffic from today's Cyber Dialogue 2013 at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs featured a great quote from a recently retired Canadian general.
Lt. Gen. Andrew Leslie (chief of the Canadian Army from 2006 to 2010, shown above in 2009) apparently made a comment that yours truly has heard plenty of times in Washington: a major, destructive cyber attack would likely prompt a knee-jerk reaction from governments that greatly expanded their control of the Internet. Killer Apps wasn't at the event to hear the quote directly, but here's what people who were at the event tweeted about it.
In case you haven’t been following it, the Twitter traffic from today’s Cyber Dialogue 2013 at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs featured a great quote from a recently retired Canadian general.
Lt. Gen. Andrew Leslie (chief of the Canadian Army from 2006 to 2010, shown above in 2009) apparently made a comment that yours truly has heard plenty of times in Washington: a major, destructive cyber attack would likely prompt a knee-jerk reaction from governments that greatly expanded their control of the Internet. Killer Apps wasn’t at the event to hear the quote directly, but here’s what people who were at the event tweeted about it.
Taylor Owen, research director at Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism, tweeted that the general’s comments sent "a chill over" the conference:
"@taylor_owen wow, Andy Leslie sends a chill over cyberdialogue "You are all running out of time before ‘people like me’ try to govern cyberspace #cd13"
Scott Carpenter of Google Ideas called the Canadian general’s comment "a weird threat":
"@JSCarpenter11 Weird threat from a former general: "you’re running out if time" b/c once "something bad" happens in cyber gov’t will assert control #cd13"
Finally, Richard Bejtlich, chief security officer at cyber firm Mandiant, tweeted:
"@taosecurity At #CD13 retired Canadian general warns "you’re running out if time" because once "something bad" happens in cyber, gov will assert control."
It’s interesting to see cyber professionals from some of the foremost institutions in tech, business, and journalism express surprise over Leslie’s comments. U.S. lawmakers have made similar comments throughout the last year in trying to pass cyber security legislation.
Reps. Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersburger — co-sponsors of CISPA, the cyber security bill currently being worked on in the House — have used this argument several times in an attempt to push lawmakers to adopt their bill, which civil liberties advocates say is harmful to individual privacy rights.
Last summer, James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies warned that a destructive cyber attack will likely result in Congress passing legislation that runs roughshod over privacy rights.
John Reed is a national security reporter for Foreign Policy. He comes to FP after editing Military.com’s publication Defense Tech and working as the associate editor of DoDBuzz. Between 2007 and 2010, he covered major trends in military aviation and the defense industry around the world for Defense News and Inside the Air Force. Before moving to Washington in August 2007, Reed worked in corporate sales and business development for a Swedish IT firm, The Meltwater Group in Mountain View CA, and Philadelphia, PA. Prior to that, he worked as a reporter at the Tracy Press and the Scotts Valley Press-Banner newspapers in California. His first story as a professional reporter involved chasing escaped emus around California’s central valley with Mexican cowboys armed with lassos and local police armed with shotguns. Luckily for the giant birds, the cowboys caught them first and the emus were ok. A New England native, Reed graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a dual degree in international affairs and history.
More from Foreign Policy
Is Cold War Inevitable?
A new biography of George Kennan, the father of containment, raises questions about whether the old Cold War—and the emerging one with China—could have been avoided.
So You Want to Buy an Ambassadorship
The United States is the only Western government that routinely rewards mega-donors with top diplomatic posts.
Can China Pull Off Its Charm Offensive?
Why Beijing’s foreign-policy reset will—or won’t—work out.
Turkey’s Problem Isn’t Sweden. It’s the United States.
Erdogan has focused on Stockholm’s stance toward Kurdish exile groups, but Ankara’s real demand is the end of U.S. support for Kurds in Syria.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
