November 2012

Senate votes down Cybersecurity Act a second time

Cybersecurity legislation failed in Senate for a second time despite calls from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other national security officials for Congress to pass a bill. A procedural motion to move forward on the Cybersecurity Act, introduced by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), was rejected in a 51-47 vote.

The vote marks a bitter end for the cybersecurity bill and kicks any legislative action on the matter on to next year. This is the closest the Senate has gotten to passing major cybersecurity legislation in recent years, and members from both parties had negotiated for months to try to reach a compromise on the bill. Prior to the vote, Sen Lieberman warned that the president would be compelled to issue the executive order if the Senate voted against moving the bill forward. But he noted that the cyber order would not accomplish everything that legislation could, including liability protection that would safeguard companies from legal action if they're hit by a cyberattack.

"The bill that was and is most important to the intelligence community was just killed, and that's cybersecurity," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said following the vote. "Whatever we do for this bill, it's not enough for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. So everyone should understand cybersecurity is dead for this Congress. What an unfortunate thing, but that's the way it is."

Before the vote, Republicans senators argued that Reid was playing politics by trying to jam the sweeping cybersecurity bill through the Senate without holding an open amendment process. They also argued that industry still held legitimate concerns with the measure and it would not adequately address the rising cyberthreat.

Sen Reid: Deal to hold votes on cybersecurity and sportsmen's bills expected Nov 13

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he hopes to reach an agreement with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to hold a vote on the Cybersecurity Act and Sportsmen’s Act.

Sen Reid said the Cybersecurity Act was one of the most important national security issues facing Congress. The Senate tried to pass the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 this summer, but several Republicans pulled support for the bill after the U.S. Chamber of Commerce complained that it put too many requirements on the private sector. Since then, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have been working with Republicans who opposed the measure, such as Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), to resolve some issues. A Senate aide said if a deal is reached, a vote on the cybersecurity bill could happen as early as November 13. Sen Reid voted against the bill as a procedural move in August so he could bring it back to the floor at a later time. Because of this, the Senate aide added that Reid can bring up the cybersecurity bill at any time as a motion to reconsider that vote.

Rep Walden to stay on as Chairman of Technology subcommittee

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) plans to stay on as chairman of the House subcommittee that handles communications and technology issues.

There had been speculation that Rep Walden might step down from the post if he won his bid to chair the National Republican Congressional Committee, which coordinates national efforts to elect Republicans to the House. Running the campaign committee is a time-consuming position that requires extensive fundraising, and observers questioned whether Walden would want both jobs. But after his GOP colleagues unanimously selected him to run the campaign committee, Rep Walden announced that he would serve a second term as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

Sources: FCC Extends Tribune Waivers; Chairman Circulates Media Ownership Order

Apparently, the Federal Communications Commission is clearing the way for Tribune's new owners to take control of its television station licenses. The Media Bureau has given the FCC commissioners a heads up that it will be issuing a decision by week's end extending Tribune's permanent waiver of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rules in Chicago, and temporary waivers in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Hartford, which will allow the license transfers to go through. In addition, the chairman's office has circulated for vote an order rejecting a petition to deny the permanent Chicago waiver, filed by the United Church of Christ, the Teamsters and others.

In addition, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated an order to change media ownership rules. The FCC is not expected to officially reveal details of the order, which are based on a proposed rule-making opened a year ago. But if the order follows the rule-making document, the FCC will essentially keep in place what the agency proposed in 2007—and has been defending in court ever since. In other words, the results would be close to the status quo. The new rules would loosen the 70s-era ban on newspaper-broadcast cross ownership, codify newspaper-TV-radio in the top 20 markets and maintain local market caps on radio and TV ownership.

FCC Report Shows Little Net Improvement in Ownership Diversity

Minorities and women are still underrepresented in broadcast radio and television station ownership ranks and have not made much headway in full-power TV station ownership in the past couple of years, according to the Federal Communications Commission’s latest Form 323 diversity of ownership report, which is comparing FCC biennial data collections from broadcasters for 2009 and 2011.

In 2011, women had an attributable interest in 91 full-power TV stations, or 6.8%, of the 1,348 total full-power TV stations. That is up from 5.6% of those stations in 2009. Women make up 50.8% of the population, according to the 2010 Census. Men owned 873 full-power TV stations (64.8%) in 2011, vs. 60.4% in 2009. While it may seem counterintuitive that both numbers could go up, that is because the other 28% or so of stations have no single owner whose stake triggers attributable ownership.

Expect IT Consolidation, Cost Cutting During Obama’s Second Term

Expanding the Office of Management and Budget’s PortfolioStat process for reviewing agencies’ informational technology spending will be one focus of the second Obama term, Deputy Federal Chief Information Officer Lisa Schlosser said.

Federal CIO Steven VanRoekel launched PortfolioStat in March focused mainly on reducing what agencies were paying for commodity IT such as wireless services and new desktop and laptop computer orders. The program was patterned after TechStat, a series of adapt-or-perish reviews created by VanRoekel’s predecessor Vivek Kundra for IT projects that are over budget and past deadline. Officials plan to expand PortfolioStat during the second term to help cut costs for projects that are unique to agencies’ missions, Schlosser said.

The Real Cyberforensics Used To Snoop On Petraeus (And You)

Anonymous, throwaway Google accounts aren't so anonymous, it turns out. Neither is a James Bond-like "digital dropbox." Here's a look into the forensics the FBI used to discover David Petraeus's affair and how it could be used to investigate any email account, anywhere.

Incentives, Opportunities, and Testing Needed to Enhance Spectrum Sharing

This requested report examines (1) what factors prevent users from sharing spectrum more frequently and (2) what actions the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Communications Information Administration (NTIA), and others can take to encourage more sharing and efficient spectrum use. GAO reviewed plans and documents from FCC and NTIA regarding their management of nonfederal and federal spectrum-sharing activities, respectively. GAO also interviewed federal and commercial spectrum users, industry and academic experts, and other stakeholders.

FCC and NTIA should jointly (1) report to Congress on the potential merits and effects of a spectrum fee, (2) determine how to best promote spectrum research and development, and (3) evaluate what regulatory changes might improve the spectrum sharing process. The agencies generally agreed with GAO’s findings but identified ongoing efforts that address the recommendations. GAO has modified the recommendations as described further in the report.

(GAO-13-7)

FCC Seeks Comment on the Legal and Statutory Framework for Next Generation 9-1-1 Services

To assist the Federal Communications Commission in developing a report to Congress, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau seeks comment on the legal and statutory framework for Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) services.

The Bureau asks questions in three broad areas:

Legal and Regulatory Framework for the Development of NG9-1-1 Services and the Transition from Legacy 9-1-1 Networks to NG9-1-1
Legal Mechanisms for Ensuring Efficient and Accurate Transmission of 9-1-1 Caller Information to Emergency Response Agencies
Recommendations for Removing Jurisdictional Barriers and Inconsistent Legacy Regulations

Comments are due December 13, 2012; reply comments are due January 14, 2013.

Ambassador warns against demonizing the UN in negotiations over Internet treaty

US Ambassador Terry Kramer argued that the United States will have to address the concerns of other countries during negotiations over an international telecommunications treaty. He warned that refusing to participate in discussions or demonizing the United Nations will only prevent the United States from having a seat at the negotiating table.

"Our messages need to be issues-orientated and fact-orientated — not taking shots at the U.N., not taking shots at leadership," he said during a speech at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. Kramer said the United States will have to remain open to proposals that would improve security or expand Internet access to areas that have little or no access. But he emphasized that certain proposals are non-negotiable, including a plan pushed by European telecommunications companies that would allow them to charge more to carry international traffic.

Benton

Search