Category Archives: trump administration

Biden takes aim at Trump, Russia over SolarWinds breach

Posted on by

President-elect Joe Biden pressured Donald Trump on Tuesday to name the hackers behind the SolarWinds breach, saying that the evidence suggests Russia is responsible. Biden also faulted the incumbent president for his handling of the nation’s digital defenses and vowed to do “all that needs to be done” to get to the bottom of the sweeping cyber espionage campaign, then punish the culprits. “It is a grave risk and it continues. I see no evidence that it’s under control,” Biden said during a speech in Wilmington, Delaware. “The Defense Department won’t even brief us on many things. So I know of nothing that suggests it’s under control. This president hasn’t even identified who is responsible yet.” Biden’s remarks amounted to his most extensive statement on cybersecurity since winning office. They came shortly after Trump downplayed the severity of the backdoor inserted into SolarWinds software that has afflicted both Cabinet departments […]

The post Biden takes aim at Trump, Russia over SolarWinds breach appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Biden takes aim at Trump, Russia over SolarWinds breach→

White House quietly activates cyber emergency response

Posted on by

In the wake of the SolarWinds breach, the National Security Council has activated an emergency cybersecurity process that is intended to help the government plan its response and recovery efforts, according to White House officials and other sources. The activation of the process is a sign of just how seriously the Trump administration is taking the foreign espionage operation, former NSC officials told CyberScoop. The process, which is rooted in a presidential directive issued during the Obama administration known as PPD-41, establishes a Cyber Unified Coordination Group (UCG) that is intended to help the U.S. government coordinate multiple agencies’ responses to the significant hacking incident. The UCG is generally led by the Department of Justice — through the FBI and the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force — as well as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security. “This cyberattack is the exact type […]

The post White House quietly activates cyber emergency response appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading White House quietly activates cyber emergency response→

National security officials brief Biden team on SolarWinds hacking campaign

Posted on by

U.S. national security officials have briefed the transition team for President-elect Joe Biden and Capitol Hill aides on the consequences of a suspected government-backed hacking campaign affecting multiple federal agencies, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Trump administration officials held multiple briefings on the topic for Biden aides on Monday, and there is a classified briefing slated for Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the briefings. Among the agencies briefing Biden staff on Monday was the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a CISA official said. The hacking campaign, which the Washington Post reported as being tied to Russia, forced an emergency meeting of the White House National Security Council and prompted some lawmakers to call for new approaches to defending U.S. companies from malicious cyber activity. Responding to the apparent cyber-espionage effort could be one of the first big tests of Biden’s cybersecurity […]

The post National security officials brief Biden team on SolarWinds hacking campaign appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading National security officials brief Biden team on SolarWinds hacking campaign→

Twitter, WhatsApp users in Cuba report disruptions amid free speech protests

Posted on by

Social media users in Cuba experienced interruptions to Twitter and WhatsApp service over the weekend amid protests against government restrictions on free expression, according to a digital rights group and media outlets that track Cuba. “Twitter, WhatsApp, and, at certain moments YouTube and other Facebook servers, were intermittently unavailable” from Nov. 27 to Nov. 30 through Cuba’s state-owned telecommunications provider, according to NetBlocks, a digital rights group that tracks internet activity. Some Cubans reported that Twitter and WhatsApp only functioned properly if they used virtual private network (VPN) software to mask their location. The reported service issues coincided with protests by Cuban musicians, writers and activists against the communist government’s jailing of their colleagues. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has denounced the collective of artists, known as the San Isidro Movement, as an “imperialist reality show” backed by the United States. The Cuban government has nonetheless taken the rare step of meeting with the […]

The post Twitter, WhatsApp users in Cuba report disruptions amid free speech protests appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Twitter, WhatsApp users in Cuba report disruptions amid free speech protests→

UK bill proposes stiff fines for companies that violate Huawei ban

Posted on by

The U.K. government is proposing big penalties for companies that fail to comply with telecommunications security requirements aimed at keeping technology from Huawei out of the country’s new high-speed networks. Legislation proposed Tuesday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government would levy fines of as much as 100,000 pounds ($134,000) per day if companies don’t meet deadlines for new security requirements. The bill essentially would codify a decision by Johnson this summer to ban Huawei from the U.K.’s 5G and fiber optics networks because of security concerns. The U.S. had pressured Britain to block Huawei over its alleged ties to the Chinese state. The Trump administration has continued to expand restrictions on the company as the U.S. and China continue to battle over trade rules, internet policy and other tech issues. Huawei has denied it spies on customers at the behest of the Chinese government. The legislation clarifies what is expected […]

The post UK bill proposes stiff fines for companies that violate Huawei ban appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading UK bill proposes stiff fines for companies that violate Huawei ban→

Biden transition efforts on cybersecurity uncertain as Trump administration throws up obstacles

Posted on by

Former Department of Homeland Security chiefs cautioned Tuesday that President Donald Trump is endangering national security by blocking the transition to Joe Biden’s presidency, as the standoff stretched days after news organizations declared Biden the victor. “At this period of heightened risk for our nation, we do not have a single day to spare to begin the transition,” said the four former DHS secretaries Tom Ridge, Michael Chertoff, Janet Napolitano and Jeh Johnson. “For the good of the nation, we must start now.” Biden nonetheless plowed ahead with his plans to take over the executive branch, announcing agency review teams sprinkled with former U.S. government cybersecurity officials. But the Trump administration is so far making it difficult, and the dispute potentially stands to hamper cybersecurity on multiple fronts. One of those fronts: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) indicated that it would not work with the Biden transition until after […]

The post Biden transition efforts on cybersecurity uncertain as Trump administration throws up obstacles appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Biden transition efforts on cybersecurity uncertain as Trump administration throws up obstacles→

GAO criticizes rollout of two key Trump administration cyber initiatives

Posted on by

In September 2018, the White House announced a new federal cybersecurity strategy to make critical infrastructure more resilient to hacking, shore up supply chains and “identify, counter, disrupt, degrade and deter behavior in cyberspace.” The ambitious document, which the White House described as the United States’ “first fully articulated cyber strategy” in 15 years, aimed to reduce the occurrence of damaging cyberattacks on U.S. interests. Two years later, a review of the strategy by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional agency, has found key gaps in the way the White House is trying to execute that plan. In the face of persistent cyber-threats from foreign powers, the Trump administration’s effort to mobilize resources to fix important U.S. security weaknesses risks coming up short without a better plan to execute the strategy, GAO said in a report published Tuesday. The National Security Council’s implementation plan for the strategy does not include […]

The post GAO criticizes rollout of two key Trump administration cyber initiatives appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading GAO criticizes rollout of two key Trump administration cyber initiatives→

TikTok, WeChat survive in US app stores — one with a deal, the other with a judge’s help

Posted on by

China-based TikTok and WeChat remained in U.S. app stores on Monday, surviving a Trump administration ban that was supposed to take effect at the end of the weekend. TikTok’s reprieve came on Saturday, when President Trump announced that its parent company, ByteDance, would break off the social media app’s U.S. business into a new firm, TikTok Global, with 20 percent ownership by Oracle and Walmart. The good news for users of WeChat, a globally popular messaging app, arrived Sunday when a federal judge in California blocked the ban. Both apps were subject to Commerce Department rules that would have blocked U.S. users from downloading fresh installs or updates, although existing users would have been able to keep current versions on their phones. The announcement said the apps “threaten the national security, foreign policy, and the economy of the U.S.” given their direct windows into the private activities of Americans. The TikTok ban has […]

The post TikTok, WeChat survive in US app stores — one with a deal, the other with a judge’s help appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading TikTok, WeChat survive in US app stores — one with a deal, the other with a judge’s help→

In about-face, UK bans Huawei from 5G networks

Posted on by

The United Kingdom on Tuesday said it was banning Huawei equipment from the country’s high-speed 5G networks in a dramatic reversal and a blow to the Chinese technology giant. Starting in January 2021, U.K. telecommunications operators will be barred from buying Huawei 5G technology, and all Huawei equipment will be removed from 5G networks by the end of 2027, said Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Oliver Dowden. Citing both security concerns with Huawei and supply-chain restrictions from recent U.S. sanctions on the Chinese company, Dowden told British lawmakers that in the coming years, Britain “will have implemented in law an irreversible path for the complete removal of Huawei equipment from our 5G networks.” The decision is a victory for the Trump administration, which has for years pressured U.S. allies to abandon Huawei, one of the world’s top suppliers of 5G equipment. U.S. officials charge that the Chinese government could […]

The post In about-face, UK bans Huawei from 5G networks appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading In about-face, UK bans Huawei from 5G networks→

Lawmakers call for cyber leadership as they introduce bill that would create White House post

Posted on by

After then-national security adviser John Bolton eliminated the position of White House cybersecurity coordinator in the spring of 2018, Democratic lawmakers quickly introduced a bill to restore the position, arguing that it was crucial for the White House to show leadership on the issue. The bill never went anywhere. But two years later, the push for creating a top White House cybersecurity post is gaining fresh traction, with support from Republicans. A bipartisan group of House members on Thursday introduced new legislation that would create a “national cyber director” at the White House. The director would serve a similar role to the coordinator, but have more authority to examine cybersecurity budgets and oversee national incident response. Instituting a national cyber director was a key recommendation put forth by the congressionally mandated Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which released a report in March arguing for big changes to U.S. cybersecurity policy. Two leading members […]

The post Lawmakers call for cyber leadership as they introduce bill that would create White House post appeared first on CyberScoop.

Continue reading Lawmakers call for cyber leadership as they introduce bill that would create White House post→