Category Archives: House of Representatives

Election commission says it won’t de-certify voting systems running old versions of Windows

Posted on by

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has told lawmakers that it will not de-certify certain voting machines using outdated Microsoft Windows systems, a disclosure that highlights the challenge of keeping voting systems secure after a vendor ceases offering support for a product. While a voting machine would fail certification if it were running software that wasn’t supported by a vendor, the act of de-certifying the machine is cumbersome and “has wide-reaching consequences, affecting manufacturers, election administration at the state and local levels, as well as voters,” EAC commissioners wrote in a letter to the Committee on House Administration that CyberScoop obtained. To pass certification, voting vendors must meet a series of specifications outlined in the Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines (VVSG), a set of standards that the EAC has been slow to update. In response to questions from the committee’s staff, EAC commissioners said the laborious de-certification process can be initiated if there is […]

The post Election commission says it won’t de-certify voting systems running old versions of Windows appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Election commission says it won’t de-certify voting systems running old versions of Windows→

With Will Hurd’s retirement, Congress loses a key cybersecurity advocate

Posted on by

When Rep. Will Hurd made news Thursday night, just as the cybersecurity community was preparing to descend on Las Vegas for a week of events, it wasn’t about Hurd’s rescinded offer to speak at the Black Hat conference. The Texas Republican announced he will not seek re-election in 2020, becoming the sixth GOP representative and the third Texan in the past 10 days to announce retirement. Hurd, a former CIA officer, had distinguished himself among lawmakers for his attention to cybersecurity issues, including a support for encryption. He was slated to deliver a keynote address at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference next week until organizers canceled his invitation following a TechCrunch article that questioned the congressman’s voting records on women’s rights issues. In a statement on his website, Hurd said that he “made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls […]

The post With Will Hurd’s retirement, Congress loses a key cybersecurity advocate appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading With Will Hurd’s retirement, Congress loses a key cybersecurity advocate→

For the First Time Since 2010, People Who Accept Climate Change Control the House Science Committee

Posted on by

Several Democratic House candidates with scientific backgrounds won against Republican incumbents on Tuesday. Continue reading For the First Time Since 2010, People Who Accept Climate Change Control the House Science Committee→

Proposed US law would require President to act against overseas hackers

Posted on by

A US senator has announced a bill that would force the President to punish overseas hackers found targeting the US, or explain why he hadn’t. Continue reading Proposed US law would require President to act against overseas hackers→

Research shows gap in House, Senate candidates’ website security

Posted on by

Nearly 30 percent of House of Representatives candidates have significant security issues in their websites compared to less than 5 percent of Senate candidates, according to new research. The disparity underscores the challenge that smaller, resource-strapped campaigns have in making themselves less vulnerable to hacking. About 3 in 10 House candidate websites scanned by election-security expert Joshua Franklin and his research team were not using important security protocols for routing data or had a major certificate issue. The scans, most of which took place in June, covered the websites of more than 500 House candidates and nearly 100 Senate candidates. “The House has significantly more candidates running and that provides more opportunities for security errors,” Franklin told CyberScoop. He presented his findings at the DEF CON conference in Las Vegas. The major political parties’ Senate candidates also tend to be more experienced on the campaign trail and have bigger staffs for those statewide races. […]

The post Research shows gap in House, Senate candidates’ website security appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Research shows gap in House, Senate candidates’ website security→

Siri is listening to you, but she’s NOT spying, says Apple

Posted on by

Apple’s working to keep iPhones from eavesdropping on us, through privacy policies, short buffer windows, local storage, and app review. Continue reading Siri is listening to you, but she’s NOT spying, says Apple→

Bill would call on White House to develop its own list of APT groups

Posted on by

A bill that passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday calls on the White House to develop a publicly available list of advanced persistent threat groups named by the U.S. government. In broad strokes, the bill — the “Cyber Deterrence and Response Act of 2018‘ — seeks to establish a cyber deterrence strategy for which the government can act on after the country’s been attacked by foreign hackers. The bill was introduced by Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla. Included in the bill are various policy changes and new controls on how the executive branch can increase costs on adversaries if they target U.S. companies or government agencies in cyberspace. Among its many recommendations, the bill calls for a comprehensive and uniform list of foreign hacking groups, so that there’s at least common terminology across government when discussing certain cyberthreats. Such a list would be the first of its kind. Housed within the Federal Register, […]

The post Bill would call on White House to develop its own list of APT groups appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Bill would call on White House to develop its own list of APT groups→

Congress wants to prevent states from weakening encryption

Posted on by

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has reintroduced legislation that would preempt any attempts by states to weaken encryption. The bill would bar states from compelling a tech company to “design or alter the security functions in its product or service to allow the surveillance of any user of such product or service,” according to its text. Republican Reps. Mike Bishop of Michigan and Jim Jordan of Ohio and Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu of California and Suzan DelBene of Washington are the bill’s sponsors. The bill also would keep states from prohibiting the sale of products or services with strong encryption. Lieu introduced the legislation in 2016, but it stalled during that congressional session. Law enforcement officials have said strong encryption has hampered numerous investigations by thwarting access to a suspect’s communications. However, those claims were undercut after the FBI admitted in May it had vastly overstated the number of encrypted devices […]

The post Congress wants to prevent states from weakening encryption appeared first on Cyberscoop.

Continue reading Congress wants to prevent states from weakening encryption→

American Capitalism Is Suffocating the Endless Possibilities of Space

Posted on by

In April the US House of Representatives passed an Act that says, “Outer space shall not be considered a global commons.” Continue reading American Capitalism Is Suffocating the Endless Possibilities of Space→