Category Archives: congress

Congress’ new spending bill includes $100M to counter Russian information operations

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At least $100 million in funding specifically to counter Russian information operations will be available under a newly unveiled spending bill to keep the U.S. government running until the end of September. Dubbed the “Countering Russian Influence Fund,” the new initiative is designed to provide support to “civil society organizations and other entities” based in Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia. The inclusion of the provision comes just one day after President Trump once again downplayed the impact of Russian information operations on the 2016 presidential election during a nationally televised interview with CBS News. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence published a historic, declassified report in January accusing Russian intelligence services of hacking into the Democratic National Committee and email mailbox of top political strategist John Podesta in an effort to leak confidential messages that would discredit Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Congress must send the spending bill to Trump for his signature […]

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Electric power industry puts cybersecurity to forefront with Trump, lawmakers

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Electric power industry executives are pushing to have their cybersecurity concerns heard by Congress and the Trump administration. A Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday — convened to discuss how the government can better coordinate with the private sector on power grid security, incident response and other cyber threat information sharing efforts — is the latest example for how the industry is reaching out to Washington. Last week, electric power company and trade group representatives also met with top administration officials, including Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Jeanette Manfra, the acting deputy undersecretary for the Homeland Security Department’s cyber division, Politico first reported. The group spoke about relevant, shared security goals and priorities, and where the government can offer assistance. Energy companies face substantial risks in cyberspace, experts say, and threats can directly affect physical systems and human life. John DiStasio, President of the Large Public Power Council, told lawmakers Tuesday that because […]

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Electric power industry puts cybersecurity to forefront with Trump, lawmakers

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Electric power industry executives are pushing to have their cybersecurity concerns heard by Congress and the Trump administration. A Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday — convened to discuss how the government can better coordinate with the private sector on power grid security, incident response and other cyber threat information sharing efforts — is the latest example for how the industry is reaching out to Washington. Last week, electric power company and trade group representatives also met with top administration officials, including Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Jeanette Manfra, the acting deputy undersecretary for the Homeland Security Department’s cyber division, Politico first reported. The group spoke about relevant, shared security goals and priorities, and where the government can offer assistance. Energy companies face substantial risks in cyberspace, experts say, and threats can directly affect physical systems and human life. John DiStasio, President of the Large Public Power Council, told lawmakers Tuesday that because […]

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Government hoarding of software vulnerabilities needs more transparency, tech firms say

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Several major technology companies are calling for increased transparency from the U.S. government after WikiLeaks published CIA documents showing that the spy agency knew of vulnerabilities in software products but did not disclose them. “We need to look at this like what is the probability that something will be found by other adversaries. There are many elements that need to go into that decision, and being transparent on what the criteria is” will help the government be more open while protecting classified material, said Intel Security’s Chief Technology Officer Steve Grobman during a hearing Wednesday by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. “I think the key thing is transparency,” Grobman said, referring to the vulnerabilities equities process, or VEP. The VEP is a secretive framework that essentially guides when and if a federal agency will notify an organization of a known software flaw that was discovered by the U.S. government. Because […]

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Trump budget: FBI would get an extra $61M to fight cybercrime and break encryption

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President Donald Trump’s budget blueprint for the federal government proposes a $61 million increase for the FBI and Justice Department in fiscal 2018 to better track terrorist communications and combat cybercriminals. “The FBI would devote resources toward its world-class cadre of special agents and intelligence analysts, as well as invest $61 million more to fight terrorism and combat foreign intelligence and cyber threats and address public safety and national security risks that result from malicious actors’ use of encrypted products and services,” the blueprint states. The FBI is one of the few agencies that would see significant increases under the budget, which emphasizes national security and law enforcement. The Environmental Protection Agency and State Department, for example, would see drastic cuts. Trump’s proposed plan is designed to effectively increase the FBI’s overall funding by a total of $249 million, or 3 percent, above the current 2017 budget. Beyond cyber operations, a majority of the […]

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Congressman says proposed ‘hacking back’ bill is gaining traction

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A bill recently proposed by Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., that would allow companies victimized by hackers to take “active cyber defense measures,” is now gaining bipartisan support, according to the congressman. Graves told CyberScoop he has received “positive feedback for the concept from both Republican and Democrat members” and “significant interest from the public, business community and academic researchers.” Interest in the bill, Graves explained, reflects a “growing recognition that current federal law doesn’t provide an adequate deterrence for criminal hacking.” “With less than 1 percent of criminal hackers being prosecuted, there is a growing consensus that we need to determine a better way to impose costs to deter their behavior. Self-defense is one method of imposing a higher cost,” Graves said. The proposed bill, named the “Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act,” is currently a discussion draft. Graves’ office continues to receive feedback from industry, think tanks, academia and other members of […]

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Congressman says proposed ‘hacking back’ bill is gaining traction

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A bill recently proposed by Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., that would allow companies victimized by hackers to take “active cyber defense measures,” is now gaining bipartisan support, according to the congressman. Graves told CyberScoop he has received “positive feedback for the concept from both Republican and Democrat members” and “significant interest from the public, business community and academic researchers.” Interest in the bill, Graves explained, reflects a “growing recognition that current federal law doesn’t provide an adequate deterrence for criminal hacking.” “With less than 1 percent of criminal hackers being prosecuted, there is a growing consensus that we need to determine a better way to impose costs to deter their behavior. Self-defense is one method of imposing a higher cost,” Graves said. The proposed bill, named the “Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act,” is currently a discussion draft. Graves’ office continues to receive feedback from industry, think tanks, academia and other members of […]

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Experts warn Congress of ongoing Russian information warfare against Europe

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Russian intelligence forces are currently involved in an online disinformation campaign to undermine several crucial European elections, former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves told lawmakers during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Thursday. IIves was one of four experts who spoke Thursday on Capitol Hill about Russian hacking and propaganda efforts designed to undermine The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Union. IIves was president of between 2006 and 2016, during a period in which Russian hackers launched a massive distributed denial of service-style attack on the country’s government agencies and private sector. “I would argue this will be the main battlefield over the next year,” IIves. “There are a number of key elections coming up among major countries … [and] in all cases we’ve seen significant meddling. The Dutch are so afraid they’ve decided to go back to paper balloting because of what might happen.” Lawmakers in Washington have […]

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