Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

The use of computers and the Internet in conducting warfare in cyberspace.

TikTok faces uncertain future after 5-hour congressional thrashing

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew tried to allay mounting national security concerns about the Chinese-owned video app but encountered open hostility in his first appearance before Congress, a five-hour thrashing that underscored the popular app’s precarious future in the United States. Lawmakers from both parties sought to tie Chew personally to the Chinese Communist Party, frequently interrupted him and called him “evasive.” While he p

Seven Contestants Selected for NTIA, DoD “2023 5G Challenge”

Seven contestants have been selected to participate in a $7 million research competition to promote more secure and interoperable wireless network equipment, the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced. The 2023 5G Challenge, a collaboration between DoD and NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) in Boulder (CO) aims to accelerate the adoption of open interfaces, interoperable subsystems, secure networks, and modular multi-vendor so

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Tackle National Security Threats from Foreign Tech

Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and John Thune (R-SD) led a group of 12 bipartisan senators to introduce the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act, legislation that will comprehensively address the ongoing threat posed by technology from foreign adversaries by better empowering the Department of Commerce to review, prevent, and mitigate information communications and technology transactions that pose undue risk to our national security. The Act would:

National Cybersecurity Strategy

The United States will reimagine cyberspace as a tool to achieve our goals in a way that reflects our values: economic security and prosperity; respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; trust in our democracy and democratic institutions; and an equitable and diverse society. To realize this vision, we must make fundamental shifts in how the United States allocates roles, responsibilities, and resources in cyberspace.

Legislation to Reform Section 230 Reintroduced in the Senate, House

US Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), along with US Representatives Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Mike Levin (D-CA), reintroduced the "Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism and Consumer Harms (SAFE TECH) Act" to reform Section 230 and allow social media companies to be held accountable for enabling cyber-stalking, online harassment, and discrimination on social media platforms. Specifically, the SAFE TECH Act would force online service providers to address misuse on their platforms or face

Corporate Broadband at Home

One of the broadband products that quietly emerged during the pandemic is a suite of products that enable corporate broadband to safely be used at home. IT directors of large companies were aghast when a large percentage of staff were sent home to work and instantly wanted full access to the same systems and functionality that they used in the office. One of the key linchpins of corporate data security has always been to limit access to corporate networks from outside the physical confines of the office.

Talking About Things We Don’t Talk About

The Federal Communications Commission is an important institution. It oversees a huge input to our information economy: Spectrum. Fortunately, three decades ago, we developed a method for allocating spectrum that has garnered bipartisan praise, been copied around the world, underlaid two Nobel prizes, and is arguably the most successful communications policy innovation ever. Unfortunately, Congress can’t decide how to reauthorize that auction authority. Congressional dysfunction? Alas, not weird. The stakes are high: billions in investment capital, 10x more in economic impact.

House Commerce Committee Chair Rodgers, Bilirakis Commend the Passage of Several Bipartisan Bills

The following Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee bills were passed by the House on February 27th, 2023. The bills will promote data transparency and strengthen American commerce. 

Groups Urge FCC to Provide Consumers with Easy-to-Understand Privacy Labels

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) joined the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) in calling for the Federal Communications Commission to provide broadband consumers with easy-to-understand, accessible notices of broadband providers’ data practices.