Category Archives: Joe Biden

White House plans to select Rob Silvers, a Mayorkas ally, to lead DHS’s cyber outfit

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The Biden administration plans to select Rob Silvers, a lawyer and former Department of Homeland Security official, to run the federal agency in charge of election security and stopping hacking threats to government networks, according to two people familiar with the matter. The choice of Silvers, who is close with Homeland Security secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, to lead DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency signals the new administration’s intent to strengthen CISA’s role in cyber-defense. Biden advisers have proposed hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for the two-year-old agency, and providing more security tools to defend civilian-government networks. Silvers’ selection won’t be official until all of the requisite paperwork is complete, people familiar with the process said. If confirmed by the Senate, Silvers would assume the position previously held by Christopher Krebs, who former President Donald Trump fired via Twitter for declaring the 2020 election was secure. CISA […]

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Biden orders US intelligence review of SolarWinds hack

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President Joe Biden has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to provide him with an assessment of a suspected Russian hacking operation that breached multiple U.S. federal agencies and exposed glaring weaknesses in U.S. cyber-defenses, the White House said Thursday. The move highlights how responding to the sophisticated spying operation, which has exploited software made by federal contractor SolarWinds, will shape the early days of Biden’s administration. It was not immediately clear what the intelligence review would entail, but Biden has vowed to get a full understanding of the computer intrusions and their impact. “Even as we work with Russia to advance U.S. interests, so, too, we work to hold Russia to account for its reckless and adversarial actions,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. Moscow has denied involvement in the hacking campaign. Biden has also tasked intelligence agencies with reviewing the extent of Russian interference in the 2020 election, […]

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Biden’s Cabinet picks face cyber questions from Congress as SolarWinds looms large

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President-elect Joe Biden’s choices to take on key cabinet roles outlined their approaches to pressing cybersecurity issues facing the new administration during Senate confirmation hearings on Tuesday. A suspected Russian hacking operation that has exposed frailties in federal defenses, as well as conspiracy theories that inspired the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol, loomed large at the hearings, which came a day before Biden’s inauguration. Of note: Biden’s picks for Homeland Security chief and Director of National Intelligence said they will get a clearer picture of the SolarWinds hacking campaign after getting classified briefings on the matter. Here are the highlights from Tuesday’s confirmation hearings. Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security nominee Immigration issues dominated the discussion between Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden’s nominee for DHS chief, and Senate lawmakers. The inability of DHS and other federal departments to stop alleged Russian hacker from exploiting software built by the federal contractor SolarWinds, […]

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The big cyber issues Joe Biden will face his first day in office

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Joe Biden has his work cut out for him. Biden will be sworn into office on Jan. 20 with a long list of challenges ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to re-considering America’s place on the world stage. There’s also the fallout from a far-reaching hacking campaign that the U.S. has suggested is the work of the Russian government. Yet the next American president has also chosen top advisers, including his picks to lead the Department of Homeland Security and the CIA, who appear to view digital security as an integral part of policymaking. Their thinking on these issues, and whether they succeed or fail in the face of deep-seated challenges to internet security, could affect the trajectory of Biden’s presidency. Here’s a closer look at three of the more pressing cybersecurity challenges the administration will encounter. Cleaning up the SolarWinds mess, then getting proactive Biden has vowed to get to […]

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Michael Sulmeyer, who held cyber posts under Trump and Obama, gets Biden White House gig

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Michael Sulmeyer, a senior adviser to National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command leader Gen. Paul Nakasone, will take the position of senior director for cyber in the Biden White House. Sulmeyer’s selection came with no formal announcement. Instead, the transition website posted his position Monday evening. Sulmeyer is a cybersecurity veteran with broad experience, one of many to join the Biden administration. He’s also one of several whose tenures have included roles in the Trump administration. Beyond serving under Nakasone, he also served in the Obama administration at the Defense Department, where he was director for plans and operations for cyber policy. Between roles in the Trump and Obama administrations, he was director of the Belfer Center’s Cyber Security Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. He also wrote extensively for Lawfare on subjects like election security, federal cybersecurity strategy and DOD-related cybersecurity issues. In the past, the National Security […]

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Russia, Iran and China exploit Capitol Hill riot to push information operations, US intel concludes

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As America reels from the deadly Capitol Hill insurrection, Russia, Iran and China are using their state media mouthpieces to exploit U.S. divisions and further their interests ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration, according to a new U.S. intelligence analysis obtained by CyberScoop. The Jan. 14 intelligence memo produced by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security shows how U.S. adversaries wasted no time in amplifying scenes from the pro-Trump mob’s siege of the Capitol building. Russian state media has harped on the Jan. 6 riot’s “violent and chaotic nature,” while focusing on the second impeachment of President Donald Trump, according to the memo. One Russian “proxy” suggested that “Antifa,” a loose collection of left-wing activists, was responsible for the storming of the Capitol, the intelligence memo said. Some Republican lawmakers also have mentioned that baseless conspiracy theory. Iranian state media has zeroed in on calls for Trump’s removal from office […]

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Iranian venture firm investing in cyber tech is subject of US sanctions

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The U.S. sanctioned an Iranian venture capital firm on Wednesday that the Treasury Department said invests in cyberspace and information technology. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control identified the firm, Barkat Ventures, as an arm of an organization that the supreme leader of Iran controls called EIKO, short for Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order. The sanctions also targeted a second Komeini-controlled organization, Astan Quds Razavi. “These institutions enable Iran’s elite to sustain a corrupt system of ownership over large parts of Iran’s economy,” said Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “The United States will continue to target those who enrich themselves while claiming to help the Iranian people.” Barkat Ventures has a small profile outside Iran. An apparent company website cites its desire to invest in technologies such as the internet of things, electronic health, cryptocurrency and software as a service. Its overall goal is to reduce barriers for entrepreneurs in “knowledge-based” businesses, […]

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Biden team taps NSA Cybersecurity Director Anne Neuberger for NSC

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Anne Neuberger, the National Security Agency’s cybersecurity director, will be joining the Biden administration as deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, the Biden transition team announced Wednesday. Neuberger has been serving in her role as the director of the year-old Cybersecurity Directorate at the Pentagon’s foreign signals intelligence agency for just over a year, but she has a track record of leadership at the NSA. She has previously served as the lead on the NSA’s task force to counter Russian threats to U.S. elections, previously known as the “Russia Small Group,” as well as its chief risk officer. She has also overseen cyber-operations at the NSA during her time serving as assistant deputy director of the Operations Directorate. Neuberger’s selection could be a signal the Biden administration intends to prioritize cybersecurity issues at the NSC. The Biden transition team has already announced a whole slew of other […]

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Twitter purges QAnon accounts; Facebook targets ‘Stop the Steal’

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The latest moves by Twitter and Facebook against misinformation look a lot like efforts from 2020. One platform suspended tens of thousands of accounts that were amplifying the QAnon conspiracy theory, and another is removing content suggesting that the election was rigged. Twitter said Tuesday it removed more than 70,000 accounts for “sharing harmful QAnon-associated content at scale,” one day after Facebook said it is targeting the phrase “stop the steal” — a favorite hashtag of President Donald Trump’s supporters — in the interest of stopping “misinformation and content that could incite further violence.” Both moves come as the social media giants have blocked Trump in the aftermath of the riot by right-wing extremists at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which occurred as Congress was preparing to certify Joe Biden’s victory over the incumbent president in November’s elections. Twitter, Facebook and other Silicon Valley companies say incitements to violence […]

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