![]() Beyond that, the several experts we spoke with agreed that it is technologically possible for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to significantly limit the flow of Internet traffic. That may be what Napolitano had in mind when he made the claim, but the wording of his statement makes it seem as though service providers could just take every network in the country offline and the problem would be solved. A much better option would be to filter certain kinds traffic that was deemed harmful, said Mark Rasch, a technology expert and a former Department of Justice attorney. Michael Locasto, a computer security expert from University of Calgary, told us that in most cases, eliminating the Internet infrastructure "would be the absolute worst course of action system defenders could take," since it would make it much more difficult to coordinate efforts against a large-scale threat. We should note that "shutting down the Internet" is just one of the many ways to respond to a cyber attack, and probably not the best one at that. In August 2009, hackers used a denial of service attack to temporarily bring down Twitter. ![]() As an example, malicious hackers can take entire websites offline by generating so many access requests that the server comes to a halt. The latter entails crippling system functionality, which can result in a network shutdown. The former consist of an unauthorized individual or group accessing a computer network. The most common are "penetration attacks" and "denial of service" attacks. First, however, a little primer on cyber attacks. We wondered whether Napolitano is right that private Internet providers have it all under control. "There are mechanisms in place to shut down the Internet privately," said Napolitano. Napolitano argued that the bill is a "power grab" by the government, and that private companies are more than capable of protecting themselves against cyber-attacks. Discussion about the bill came up on a June 28, 2010, segment of the Glenn Beck show, guest-hosted by Judge Andrew Napolitano, a Fox News contributor. The rumors, which are spreading like wildfire through the technology blogosphere, are tied to a bill currently pending in Congress that would allow the president to implement "short-term emergency measures" to protect the United States from a cyber attack. We've gotten a lot of e-mails from readers asking us to weigh in on the claim that President Barack Obama may soon be able to use a "kill switch" to shut down and take over the Internet.
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