Collaborate Disseminate
Facebook’s CEO and founder testified in front of House and Senate committees on data security and how the social media site is trying to improve. Continue reading Everything You Need to Know About Mark Zuckerberg’s Testimony to Congress
During a week where multiple senior Ukrainian government officials came to visit Washington, a bill designed to foster further collaboration on cybersecurity efforts between the U.S. and Ukrainian governments passed the House of Representatives late Wednesday night. Known as the “Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act of 2017,” the bipartisan legislation was first introduced by Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., in April 2017 just three months after news surfaced that a massive electric power blackout in Kiev had been caused by a complex cyberattack. Cybersecurity experts later attributed the attack to Russian hackers. The bill, which was cosponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., passed with a 404-4 vote. In practice, the bill would encourage greater cooperation between the U.S. and Ukraine regarding several key digital defense priorities, including a promise that the U.S. will support the Ukrainian government when or if requested. The law mandates that this partnership be organized through a Department of […]
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With the passage of the Cyber Diplomacy Act in the House of Representatives, Congress took the first step Wednesday in reestablishing a State Department office that was dedicated to developing global norms for digital espionage and more. The bipartisan bill, which passed by voice vote, has garnered support from both sides of the aisle. It would codify and expand the capabilities of the Office of the Cybersecurity Coordinator, which was created in 2011 but abolished last year after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson decided to merge it with the department’s larger Bureau of Economic Affairs. Senators have shown interest in the idea of reestablishing the office, but it’s unclear if the House bill will move in that chamber. Insiders say the shuttering of the cyber office effectively downgraded the State Department’s diplomatic mission for the development of norms for cyberspace — including, for example, debating foreign governments on what should be considered a legitimate target […]
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Continue reading Cyber diplomacy office at State Department would return under House-passed bill
A similar bill will now be considered in the Senate. Continue reading The House Just Voted to Expand Warrantless Surveillance of US Citizens
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has been abused by the intelligence agencies to spy on Americans. This week the House of Representatives will vote on a bill to make that legal. Continue reading Congress Is About to Vote On Expanding the Warrantless Surveillance of Americans
“Never again,” says Aaron Trujillo, chief of staff for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “That’s the message.” Roughly one year ago, the DCCC — the campaign arm for Democrats in the House of Representatives — revealed that its systems were breached by hackers. The cyberattacks, as it was later reported, were connected to a broader operation that included multiple computer intrusions into the Democratic National Committee, the party’s national organization. Closer to Election Day, it was revealed that there were links between the DCCC breach incident and the GRU, Russia’s premier military intelligence agency. Russian government officials quickly denied that the Kremlin was involved in either incident. The breach marked the beginning of a larger issue. In August 2016, less than one month after the DCCC hack had been publicly disclosed, a blog written under the moniker of “Guccifer 2.0” began publishing thousands of sensitive, internal DCCC documents. They included […]
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Continue reading How the Democrats plan to stop hackers from breaching 2018 campaigns
Lawmakers attached several cybersecurity-focused amendments to the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act in a last-minute effort Wednesday to change how the federal government defends itself from cyberattacks and how the military conducts offensive cyber-operations. The House was still working on the bill as of Thursday afternoon. The provisions added Wednesday joined an already lengthy list of items related to government cybersecurity initiatives. Because the NDAA is a policy bill and not a spending bill, congressional rules leave it more open to amendments. It’s common for lawmakers to use it as a vehicle for a wide range of legislative priorities. Most of the amendments added Wednesday have a military component, though. A total of five cybersecurity amendments were added Wednesday to the House’s version of the bill, which still faces a conference committee with the Senate version. Reps. Mike Johnson, R-La., Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., Gregg Harper, R-Miss., Robert Brady, D-Pa., Jose Correa, […]
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Continue reading Here are the cybersecurity amendments added to the House’s defense bill
The Trump administration should publish definitions for key terms in cyberspace conflict as part of a comprehensive national policy to defend the country from online attack, says a resolution introduced in the House. “The United States should develop and adopt a comprehensive cybersecurity policy that clearly define acts of aggression, acts of war, and other related events in cyberspace, including any commensurate responses” by U.S. forces, states the bipartisan resolution, H. Res. 200. It is sponsored by Democrat C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger of Maryland, whose district includes the Fort Meade headquarters of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command, and by Republican Scott Taylor of Virginia, who represents the defense-facility heavy Newport News-Virginia Beach area. Such “sense of the House” resolutions are non-binding, but the sponsors said they wanted to use the document to start a conversation about properly preparing the nation to defend itself from hackers, cybercriminals and other online enemies. The two men […]
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Continue reading Definitions for cyberwar terms sought by House lawmakers
Legislation recently introduced in the House that seeks to terminate the Election Assistance Commission, or EAC, would hamper coordination efforts between state and federal officials at a time when cybersecurity concerns are top of mind, experts tell CyberScoop. The bill, H.R. 634, would effectively gut what is considered to be one of the only organized bodies […]
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Continue reading Election-systems cybersecurity would take a hit under new House bill, experts say
Legislation recently introduced in the House that seeks to terminate the Election Assistance Commission, or EAC, would hamper coordination efforts between state and federal officials at a time when cybersecurity concerns are top of mind, experts tell CyberScoop. The bill, H.R. 634, would effectively gut what is considered to be one of the only organized bodies […]
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Continue reading Election-systems cybersecurity would take a hit under new House bill, experts say