We Americans like to think of ourselves as inventive and resourceful. Like DARPAs Information Awareness Office director John Poindexter with his idea of a Total Information Awareness (TIA) program that would use the latest, greatest technology to enhance security by integrating all available electronic information about anyone with a credit card or drivers license or birth certificate. That was darn resourceful. Turns out it was also too scary, and not just for the privacy extremists on both the left and right wings. For the moderate middle, too. Congress determined that no Pentagon R&D money could be spent on TIA without its express approval. It also requires Congressional approval for deployment by TIA of any technology to spy on U.S. citizens. It gave the Department of Defense 90 days to report back with, among other things, a detailed explanation of the actual and intended use of the funds for each project and activity of TIA, target dates for deployment and an assessment of the likely impact of the implementation on privacy and civil liberties. The 90-day period is drawing to a close. And we havent heard much about TIA since Congresss ruling. Maybe its because privacy fears have gone from code red to code orange. And obviously certain other matters have dominated the news in the interim. But, with privacy qualms comforted, paranoia creeps in. Are we being foolish to let powerful technologies languish offstage while legislators determine whether its OK to use them? Thats not very resourceful. They could be saving our lives. In common practice, inventive developments and new capabilities in technology evolve much faster than your typical legislation. And legislation pertaining to technology is often further slowed by having to educate the decision-makers, who are all smart folks but not experts in this stuff, about the powers and limitations of particular solutions. You can picture it, endless hearings and presentations and Pentagon reports and lobbying vendors and meanwhile versions 2.0 and 3.0 and more are released. It goes against our national character to force inventiveness and resourcefulness to yield to patience. Should they? How do we reconcile the pace of lawmaking with the pace of toolmaking? Related content feature Top cybersecurity M&A deals for 2023 Fears of recession, rising interest rates, mass tech layoffs, and conservative spending trends are likely to make dealmakers cautious, but an ever-increasing need to defend against bigger and faster attacks will likely keep M&A activity steady in By CSO Staff Sep 22, 2023 24 mins Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions brandpost Unmasking ransomware threat clusters: Why it matters to defenders Similar patterns of behavior among ransomware treat groups can help security teams better understand and prepare for attacks By Joan Goodchild Sep 21, 2023 3 mins Cybercrime news analysis China’s offensive cyber operations support “soft power” agenda in Africa Researchers track Chinese cyber espionage intrusions targeting African industrial sectors. By Michael Hill Sep 21, 2023 5 mins Advanced Persistent Threats Cyberattacks Critical Infrastructure brandpost Proactive OT security requires visibility + prevention You cannot protect your operation by simply watching and waiting. It is essential to have a defense-in-depth approach. By Austen Byers Sep 21, 2023 4 mins Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe