Control of Cybersecurity Becomes Divisive Issue

by JAMES RISEN and ERIC LICHTBLAU New York Times

The National Security Agency has been campaigning to lead the government’s rapidly growing cybersecurity programs, raising privacy and civil liberties concerns among some officials who fear that the move could give the spy agency too much control over government computer networks.

The Obama administration is expected to complete an internal cybersecurity review on Friday and may publicly announce its new computer-security strategy as early as next week, White House officials said Thursday.  That plan will determine the scope of cybersecurity efforts throughout the federal government, they said, as well as which agencies will take leading roles in protecting the government’s computer systems. …

Rod Beckstrom, who resigned in March as director of the National Cyber Security Center at the Homeland Security Department, said in an interview that he feared that the N.S.A.’s push for a greater role in guarding the government’s computer systems could give it the power to collect and analyze every e-mail message, text message and Google search conducted by every employee in every federal agency.  Article.