Category Archives: trump administration

U.S. officials release framework for notifying public of foreign interference in elections

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The Trump administration on Friday released a framework describing the process by which it would notify Congress, state and local officials, the private sector, and the public about foreign interference in U.S. elections. The framework supplements existing laws, under which the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security alert victims of cyber intrusions and other malicious activity. The document is recognition that, in cases of foreign attempts to disrupt the electoral process, more communication with the public is needed. One key factor in the notification process, according to a one-page summary released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, is whether public disclosure of a foreign interference operation will deter the activity and protect the public, or instead re-amplify the adversary’s message. If DHS’s cybersecurity agency or a member of the intelligence community wants to disclose foreign interference activity beyond what is required by law, an interagency group of intelligence officials will […]

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FCC chair pitches rules to block Huawei, ZTE

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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai revealed a proposal Monday that would bar U.S. communications companies from using federal subsidies to buy Huawei and ZTE equipment and services. It’s the latest push from the Trump administration to block Chinese-owned telecommunications equipment and services from being used in the U.S. due to national security concerns. Pai’s proposal would prevent communications companies from using the FCC’s $8.5 billion service fund, known as the Universal Service Fund, from buying equipment that poses a “national security threat” to the U.S. Pai specifically cites Huawei and ZTE. “We need to make sure our networks won’t harm our national security, threaten our economic security, or undermine our values. The Chinese government has shown repeatedly that it is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to do just that,” Pai said in a statement. “As the United States upgrades its networks to the next generation of wireless technologies — […]

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Trump administration looks to throttle Chinese surveillance companies’ business with U.S.

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The U.S. Commerce Department made moves Monday to limit the activities of eight Chinese companies in the U.S., citing human rights abuses and surveillance against Uighurs and other Chinese Muslim minorities. The department said it is adding the companies to its Entity List, which identifies people, businesses or other organizations for “engaging in activities contrary to U.S. national security and/or foreign policy interests.” Although the department names human rights abuses as the primary concern in its latest action, some of the eight companies have also come under federal scrutiny in recent months for security issues. Just two months ago the Trump administration issued a rule to bar federal purchases of telecommunications equipment from two of the companies added to the list this week, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd., a former Chinese government research arm, and Dahua Technology. Those earlier moves were done in accordance with the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. Another company added to the Entity List this week, Xiamen […]

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Congressional pressure builds for White House to share classified cyber authorizations

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Almost one year after President Donald Trump issued a classified memorandum that has made it easier for the Pentagon to run offense cyber-operations against U.S. adversaries, lawmakers still haven’t seen the details of the memorandum, and they want the White House to change course. Thursday evening the House of Representatives added a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act that would compel the White House to turn over the memorandum as well as any others relating to the Pentagon’s cyber-operations.  The amendment was part of an “en bloc” package, meaning both sides accepted by voice vote without debate, signaling to the White House just how much interest there is — on both sides of the aisle — in allowing the legislative branch to see the memorandum. Part of the concern is that with increased authorizations to run offensive operations against adversaries, the administration runs the risk of escalating tensions with adversaries in cyberspace without proper Congressional oversight, […]

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Trump emphasizes federal cybersecurity workforce, education programs in new executive order

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The White House is rolling out an executive order that is intended to bolster the nation’s cybersecurity workforce, senior administration officials told reporters on a call Thursday. The officials detailed a document that includes provisions geared toward the federal government’s employees, as well as education and career development initiatives for the U.S. workforce in general. The goal is to build a “superior cybersecurity workforce,” one official said. The White House wants to create a President’s Cybersecurity Cup competition that “will identify, challenge, and reward the government’s best personnel supporting cybersecurity and cyber excellence,” the officials said. Other elements include allowing cybersecurity employees to rotate among agencies, and using new cybersecurity aptitude tests as part of efforts to reskill federal workers. The employee-rotation idea already has bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, with Senate passage earlier this week of a bill that would put it into action. The Trump administration has embraced reskilling for awhile, too: A program to […]

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U.S. Cyber Command has shifted its definition of success

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U.S. Cyber Command is shifting the way it measures success from solely military outcomes to how the command enables other government agencies to defend against foreign offensive cyber threats. Brig. Gen. Timothy Haugh, who is in charge of Cyber Command’s Cyber National Mission Force, said on Tuesday at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council that success is “not necessarily [about] the department’s outcome,” but is instead about “how can we enable our international partners [and] our domestic partners in industry to be able to defend those things that are critical to our nation’s success.” Haugh said Cyber Command is doing its job right if agencies are taking their own actions: State Department issuing démarches, Department of Homeland Security releasing alerts, and Treasury Department announcing sanctions “based off of information that is derived from our operations.” In the past, Haugh said he believes that these outcomes may not have been considered as wins. […]

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Trump Admin Secretly Shipped Nuclear Waste to Nevada and State Officials Are ‘Outraged’

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“They lied to the State of Nevada, misled a federal court, and jeopardized the safety of Nevada’s families and environment,” Governor Sisolak said. Continue reading Trump Admin Secretly Shipped Nuclear Waste to Nevada and State Officials Are ‘Outraged’→

US Carbon Emissions Spike in 2018 to Their Highest Levels in Eight Years

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A new report estimates that American carbon dioxide emissions rose by 3.4 percent in 2018, due to Trump’s policies, cold spells, and economic growth. Continue reading US Carbon Emissions Spike in 2018 to Their Highest Levels in Eight Years→

Ex-DHS official on PPD-20 repeal: Consider potential blowback to private sector

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The U.S. government’s new and reportedly more muscular approach to conducting offensive cyber-operations must carefully consider the potential blowback of such actions to the private sector, a former senior Department of Homeland Security official has warned. “DHS needs to be part of the discussion around the cost-benefit analysis to bring the private sector point of view because we know the private sector often bears the brunt of the retaliation that comes in the wake of more aggressive activity,” Suzanne Spaulding said Wednesday at the Atlantic Council. Asked what public indication there would that those concerns are being addressed, Spaulding, who served as a DHS undersecretary under President Barack Obama, said the answer lies in the private sector. Private companies will have a sense of “whether their equities were adequately considered” before a U.S. government decision to conduct offensive operations, Spaulding said during a panel discussion. “And my guess is they’ll […]

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White House announces federal cyber strategy, vows to go on offensive

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The White House announced a new national cybersecurity strategy Thursday in an effort raise federal network defenses and more aggressively deter foreign adversaries from threatening U.S. interests. “We’re going to do a lot of things offensively and I think our adversaries need to know that,” White House national security adviser John Bolton told reporters. Defensive measures are central to the document, but Bolton’s call with reporters emphasized offense. “We will identify, counter, disrupt, degrade, and deter behavior in cyberspace that is destabilizing and contrary to national interests, while preserving the United States’ overmatch in and through cyberspace,” Bolton said. The strategy is a template through which federal agencies can carry out their own cybersecurity mandates, according to Bolton. “I’m satisfied that this allows us the comprehensive look at strategy across the entire government,” he said. “Each agency knows its lane and is pursuing it vigorously. That’s true in the unclassified world; it’s […]

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