Five overlooked costs of the NSA surveillance flap

[unhappycamper]

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2014/0112/Five-overlooked-costs-of-the-NSA-surveillance-flap



Potential fallout from revelations about the NSA's aggressive surveillance activities could be far-reaching, including billions in lost business for American tech giants. What other less-obvious consequences for the cyber realm?

Five overlooked costs of the NSA surveillance flap
By Mark Clayton, Staff writer / January 12, 2014

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Economic damage

US technology giants whose data have been snapped up by the NSA, according to the leaked documents, are getting pushback from their customers and seeing damage to their brands – especially overseas, several experts say.

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Less pressure on China

White House momentum to finally begin dealing with Chinese cyber-espionage aimed at US corporations has largely dissipated since the document leaks, analysts say.

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Distraction amid US cyber-insecurity

Bills in Congress to safeguard from cyberattack America's critical infrastructure – telecommunications networks, the electricity grid, natural-gas pipelines, financial systems, and so forth – were never zipping along. Now, with lawmakers' attention riveted on the NSA, they are immobilized, security analysts say.

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Death knell for military cyberdefense plan

Imagine a "star wars"-type defense shield for cyberspace – one that could identify an incoming attack and intercept it before it lays waste to a subway system, shuts down the West Coast power grid, or confounds the banking network. The NSA did imagine it, and its director, Gen. Keith Alexander (also chief of the Pentagon's Cyber Command), was arguing in favor of building just such a defense system, The New York Times reported in August.

[pipoman]

1. "flap"?

Interesting choice of words. According to marriam Webster the only definition I see that makes any sense is:

"to talk foolishly and persistently"