Category Archives: Ben Cardin

Senators to Trump administration: Protect small businesses from Iranian hacking threat

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The federal agency charged with supporting small U.S. businesses should take “immediate action” to ensure that such firms are adequately protected from cyberthreats emanating from Iran, a bipartisan pair of senators said Wednesday. “We are concerned that small businesses may not have the information and tools necessary” to implement cybersecurity practices recommended by the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the U.S. killing of Iran’s top general, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., wrote in a letter to the Small Business Administration. The advisory from DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned of Iran’s history of “disruptive and destructive cyber operations against strategic targets” and advised U.S. organizations to consider whether they make an attractive target for the Iranians. According to the FBI, those potential private-sector targets include cleared defense contractors. Security experts have also advised organizations not to overreact to potential cyberthreats from Iran. Ned […]

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D.C. Metro system beefs up supply-chain cybersecurity provisions for new railcars

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The Washington, D.C., area’s Metro system, in response to U.S. senators who raised security concerns about a new line of railcars, now says it will use the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s cybersecurity framework to vet software and hardware proposed for the project. Bidders on the railcar procurement, worth an estimated $1 billion and covering up to 800 railcars, also will have to show evidence that a third party tested their software or hardware, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld said Wednesday. The NIST framework — used widely throughout other industries and government agencies — is a key part of the  updated request for proposal, Wiedefeld wrote in a letter to Democratic senators from Virginia and Maryland. “We are confident that these approaches will impose appropriate controls that limit any malicious actor’s ability to embed malware and for WMATA to monitor and enforce security requirements,” Wiedefeld wrote to […]

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Senators worry that new D.C. Metro railcars could carry cyber risk

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Senators who represent the Washington, D.C., area have raised concerns about added cybersecurity risks in the region’s Metro system after reports that a Chinese state-owned manufacturing company could win a $1 billion procurement for railcars. The four Democrats – Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland – wrote to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority expressing their “serious concerns” of possible foreign bidding on the project, “particularly when it could involve foreign governments that have explicitly sought to undermine our country’s economic competitiveness and national security.” The Jan. 18 letter to WMATA CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld, the lawmakers exhorted him to “take the necessary steps to mitigate growing cyber risks to these cars.” The worry is that technology in the transit system, including video surveillance cameras and the automated aspects of railcars, could be a target of spies or hackers. The state-owned China Railway […]

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Two bills seek transparency in ownership of election vendors

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Senators introduced a pair of bills Thursday that would crack down on foreign ownership of election systems in the U.S., as the government continues to try to mitigate supply chain risk. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., announced the Protect Our Elections Act and the Election Systems Integrity Act, both of which would set restrictions and reporting requirements around foreign ownership and operation of election systems. The former has bipartisan backing, with co-sponsorships from Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Ben Cardin D-Md. The latter is also backed by Cardin and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. The two bills overlap significantly in scope. Asked why they’re separate, a spokesperson for Van Hollen said that one deals with disclosure while the other would issue a ban. The Protect Our Elections Act would outlaw foreign ownership of election systems, specifically ones that deal with voting, tabulation, voter registration and communication systems for election agency. The bill would […]

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House funding bill for DHS follows Trump plan to cut research and science offices

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The Homeland Security spending bill advancing in the House of Representatives follows the Trump administration’s budget request in proposing severe cuts on the department’s Science and Technology Directorate — slashing the research programs and technology development facilities that it runs, including its national laboratories. Although the bill, which covers appropriations for DHS for fiscal 2018, has a long way to go before it becomes law, the administration is already moving ahead with the cuts, preparing to shutter three of its five national labs. The cuts have drawn protests from former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Democrats in the House and Senate. The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, and the Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC) at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland, are both on the chopping block. The National Urban Security Technology Laboratory, which has an office in New York City and Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, is also […]

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House funding bill for DHS follows Trump plan to cut research and science offices

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The Homeland Security spending bill advancing in the House of Representatives follows the Trump administration’s budget request in proposing severe cuts on the department’s Science and Technology Directorate — slashing the research programs and technology development facilities that it runs, including its national laboratories. Although the bill, which covers appropriations for DHS for fiscal 2018, has a long way to go before it becomes law, the administration is already moving ahead with the cuts, preparing to shutter three of its five national labs. The cuts have drawn protests from former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Democrats in the House and Senate. The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, and the Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC) at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland, are both on the chopping block. The National Urban Security Technology Laboratory, which has an office in New York City and Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, is also […]

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