What is the cybersecurity USF? If you are interested in this study, do not hesitate to read this. You can get more information from this article.
What is the Cybersecurity USF?
The Cybersecurity USF is a charge on telecommunication companies that will go into effect. It is to help fund the Homeland Security Agency’s cybersecurity and IT initiatives.
The USF will cover improvements in cybersecurity and information technology within the government, including Software updates and standards Improved information sharing between the public.
Also, private sectors Cyber-threat analysis Law enforcement training Network monitoring and defense The USF will not be to consumers. This will be for by the telecommunication companies.
Under the new USF, companies will pay a fee of $9.25 per month for every phone line they have in service. This includes cell phones and landlines.
This will generate about $3 billion in revenue annually for the government. As a result, the government will spend about $1 billion annually on cybersecurity and IT initiatives.
Telecommunications
This is a great thing to do by the government, but this is something that should by the company itself rather than charging it to its customers.
Many companies make their customers pay for services that they benefit from, such as Facebook and Google.
The government should not be to charge for this. In my opinion, the government should not be charging companies for cybersecurity and IT initiatives.
The government should pay for those from general income tax.
How It Works
Under the new USF, companies will pay a fee of $9.25 per month for every phone line they have in service. Also, this includes cell phones and landlines.
This will generate about $3 billion in revenue annually for the government. As a result, the government will spend about $1 billion annually on cybersecurity and IT initiatives.
About $500 million of the revenue will be to improve the cyber defenses of critical infrastructure. This may include power and water utilities.
The communications systems that operate traffic lights, banking systems, and stock exchanges.
It will also be used to develop a new workforce that is well-trained in cybersecurity. Under the USF, telecommunications companies will be given incentives to:
Safeguard customer information Improve sharing of cyber threats between the public and private sector Track and report security breaches to the government.
How Does it Affect Me?
The Cybersecurity USF will go into effect on October 1st, 2017. If you are a customer of a telecommunication company, you will be paying an additional fee. The text below is from the FCC’s public notice for the proposal.
” For purposes of this proposal, we define a “telecommunications carrier” as any provider of telecommunications services, except that such term does not include aggregators of telecommunications services (as defined in 47 CFR 54.202(a)(26)).
Internet backbone providers, and information service providers as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 230(f). “
However, this is bad for consumers. If you want to protect your information and personal data, it is better to get a VPN or a Virtual Private Network. This will secure your information. It encrypts the data that you send and receive over the internet.
The government should not charge consumers for cybersecurity and IT initiatives. The government should pay for these initiatives from general income tax.
Telecommunications companies should pay for it themselves rather than charging it to their customers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Cybersecurity USF is a charge on telecommunication companies that will go into effect.
It is to help fund the Homeland Security Agency’s cybersecurity and IT initiatives.
