The potential next head of the National Security...
The potential next head of the National Security Agency is open to shifting a key U.S. phone surveillance program, as the administration and some members of Congress have indicated they want to do. “I believe, sir, with the right construct…
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we could make that work,” Vice Admiral Michael Rogers, nominated to be the next NSA director and head of U.S. Cyber Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday at a hearing, speaking of how the government could shift possession of phone metadata collected in bulk to a third party or to service providers. He declined to weigh in on the Patriot Act Section 215 phone surveillance program’s value or effectiveness. He stressed that the program should retain “speed” and the ability to access the intelligence information “in a timely manner.” The administration should give Rogers “more support in explaining these [surveillance] programs” than before, said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., top Republican on the Intelligence Committee. Chambliss added he has some “confidence” the administration will. Chambliss also said during the hearing he is “very close” to reaching a deal with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to introduce the committee’s cybersecurity bill. Cybersecurity observers have long anticipated the committee’s bill, which they believe would most closely mirror the House-passed Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (HR-624). The “last remaining obstacle” Chambliss and Feinstein are working on deals with one of the Senate bill’s key provisions, which deals with liability protections, Chambliss said during the hearing. A Senate Intelligence bill on cybersecurity would be a “step in the right direction,” Rogers said. But, the “right answer” on cybersecurity probably will need to include improved information sharing between the federal government and critical infrastructure companies, he said.