October 13, 2015 (Data Encryption)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2015 (Cubs Magic Number is 9!)
International Agreements, International Disagreements: Robbie's Round-Up
INTERNET/BROADBAND
The Need for (Broadband) Speed
Oops, DNS blocking did not break the Internet - Daniel Castro/ITIF op-ed
Tennessee Lawmakers Plan Push to Extend Muni-Broadband Boundaries
Competify Launches Broadband Competition Campaign
Home broadband critical to education in Alabama - op-ed [links to Benton summary]
PRIVACY
With court order, federal judge seeks to fuel debate about data encryption
The backdoor threat to encryption - Cameron Kerry op-ed [links to Benton summary]
Encrypted Smartphones Challenge Investigators [links to Benton summary]
California Now Has the Nation’s Best Digital Privacy Law
Public Knowledge Urges Wireless Industry to Protect Personal Data of Low-income Americans - press release
Republicans Diss Dual Privacy Regime
Apple removes several apps that could spy on encrypted traffic [links to Ars Technica]
OWNERSHIP
Dell to Buy data-storage company EMC for $67 Billion [links to Wall Street Journal]
NAB Asks FCC to Suspend Charter-Time Warner Cable Review [links to Benton summary]
Ownership Rules Distort TV’s M&A Market - Harry Jessell editorial [links to Benton summary]
ACCESSIBILITY
US Department of Education Awards $20 Million to Increase Access to ICT for Individuals with Disabilities - press release
EDUCATION
The Question Isn't Whether Technology is Good For Your Kid
Home broadband critical to education in Alabama - op-ed [links to Benton summary]
Passing a free online course isn’t as meaningful as taking the same class for credit on a college campus. But that could be changing. [links to Technology Review]
CHILDREN AND MEDIA
Pediatricians Rethinking Screen Time Policy for Children [links to Benton summary]
DIVERSITY
University of Michigan Professor Eileen Pollack: cultural stereotypes about computer scientists strongly influences young women’s desire to take classes in the field [links to New York Times]
ELECTIONS AND MEDIA
The 158 Families Funding the 2016 presidential Election [links to New York Times]
Local TV Stations Booming From Super-PAC Windfall [links to Benton summary]
TELEVISION
Does the Future of Television Belong to the Device or the App?
Key Senators Urge FCC Chairman Wheeler to Keep Exclusivity Rules [links to TVNewsCheck]
Rep Pallone to FCC: Don't Redefine Streaming Video Services as Cable Operators [links to Broadcasting&Cable]
Local TV Stations Booming From Super-PAC Windfall [links to Benton summary]
WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
Eight quotes from “Spectrum Wednesday” that show how Capitol Hill is thinking about spectrum - Verizon press release [links to Benton summary]
Deutsche Bank analyst: Dish could strike a spectrum deal with Verizon or a perpetual leasing agreement [links to Fierce]
Joint NTIA-FCC Statement on Biannual Planning Spectrum Meeting - press release [links to Benton summary]
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on 5G and the Need for More Spectrum
Securing RF Devices Amid Changing Technology - FCC press release
Google and Apple Would Make Cell Service Better By Bidding
JOURNALISM
Washington Post’s “In the Loop” column ends as Al Kamen retires [links to Washington Post]
FCC REFORM
Your Feedback is Building a Better FCC.gov - press release
POLICYMAKERS
President Obama Taps Sonus Networks CEO Raymond Dolan for National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee - press release [links to Benton summary]
STORIES FROM ABROAD
In a first, Chinese hackers are arrested at the behest of the US government
Cyberwar Ignites a New Arms Race
Facebook Pays Less in Taxes in the UK Than the Average UK Employee [links to Fast Company]
Vast majority of Australian ISPs are not ready to start collecting and storing metadata as required under the country's new data retention laws [links to Australian Broadcasting Corporation]
INTERNET/BROADBAND
THE NEED FOR (BROADBAND) SPEED
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Colin Wood]
Although broadband Internet service has expanded over the past few years, there are still millions of Americans for whom a fast connection to the Web remains unavailable or unaffordable. In June, the Federal Communications reported that 17 percent of the US population -- 55 million people -- lacks access to advanced broadband, which the agency defines as providing download speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 3 Mbps. The broadband gap is widest in rural communities, where half of Americans can’t get advanced broadband service. But this isn’t just a rural issue. Big cities struggle connectivity with too. Los Angeles CIO Ted Ross says almost a third of residents in the nation’s second-largest metropolis don’t have broadband Internet in their homes. Affordability often is an issue. A recent report from the Pew Research Center found that high-speed service often is too expensive for lower income families with school-age children. About a third of these families don’t have broadband at home, according to the report, putting these students at a serious disadvantage. Given the importance of high-speed Internet access to everything from finding jobs and doing homework to e-commerce and entertainment, we asked representatives from government, industry and nonprofits why the broadband equity gap exists and how to fix it.
benton.org/headlines/need-broadband-speed | Government Technology
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DNS BLOCKING
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Daniel Castro]
[Commentary] In 2012, Congress was considering two bills — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) — that would have enabled law enforcement to request that websites found to be infringing intellectual property be blocked within the domain name system (DNS), the system that routes people to websites. Not only were detractors of these bills opposed to restricting access to websites engaged in online piracy, they were outspoken in their condemnation of the DNS blocking requirements because, they said, it would "break the Internet." This rallying cry of "don't break the Internet" became the impetus for an unprecedented campaign by online activists to kill the legislation. The campaign was wildly successful because no legislator wants to be known as having voted for legislation that "broke the Internet." Almost four years later, it is worth asking: Were they right? Would DNS blocking have broken the Internet? Based on developments in other countries, the answer is a resounding "no."
[Castro is vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation]
benton.org/headlines/oops-dns-blocking-did-not-break-internet | Hill, The
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TENNESSEE LAWMAKERS PLAN PUSH TO EXTEND MUNI-BROADBAND BOUNDARIES
[SOURCE: Government Technology, AUTHOR: Tim Omarzu]
At first they didn't succeed, but two Cleveland (TN)-area lawmakers will try, try again to change state law so EPB and other municipal utilities can expand the boundaries of their high-speed Internet service to reach rural areas that don't have broadband. Tennessee state Reps Dan Howell (R-TN 22) and Kevin Brooks (R-TN 24) reiterated their support to tweak state law to expand the reach of public utilities' broadband to reach unincorporated community of McDonald near Bendabout Farm. The lawmakers joined with a national group working to expand municipal broadband, Next Century Cities, during an evening meeting that drew about 85 people. The proposed legislation would strike a few words from state law, state Rep Howell said, and remove the requirement that utilities keep their broadband within the "footprint" of their electric service. If that happened, EPB could extend its gigabit fiber optic service into areas it now can't serve, such as McDonald. The proposed legislation got pulled in 2014 by its sponsors when it looked like it might die. State Rep Howell thinks it will do better in the next session of the Tennessee Assembly, which gets underway in January.
benton.org/headlines/tennessee-lawmakers-plan-push-extend-muni-broadband-boundaries | Government Technology
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COMPETIFY LAUNCHES BROADBAND COMPETITION CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Competify, the coalition of competitive carriers pushing the Federal Communications Commission to promote more broadband competition and access (at lower prices), has taken to the streets, literally. On Oct 5 they launched a "Partners for the Cure" campaign in DC with transit signs -- airport and bus -- positioning Competify as a medicine that will help cure "chronic broadband access control issues." The campaign also included a tchotchke mailing to journalists of a Competify branded coffee mug, pen, foam capsule and mini-mint tin. The FCC is currently working on reforms to the broadband special access (business services) to insure competitive access to legacy nets when those have migrated to fiber from traditional copper. Competify members want to insure that competitive access does not get lost in the IP transition and are looking for better prices out of AT&T and Verizon for that service. The web site provides a sign-up sheet and urges surfers to tell the FCC to "try Competify," which it is pushing as a cure for "some companies" addiction to control and "price gouge." Competify was launched in July, and its backers include the Competitive Carriers Association, Sprint, Comptel and Public Knowledge.
benton.org/headlines/competify-launches-broadband-competition-campaign | Multichannel News
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PRIVACY
DATA ENCRYPTION
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima]
Magistrate Judge James Orenstein of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York is seeking to expand to the courts the hot debate over whether tech companies should be forced to find ways to unlock encrypted smartphones and other devices for law enforcement. Judge Orenstein released an order Oct 9 that suggests he would not issue a ¬government-sought order to compel the tech giant Apple to unlock a customer’s smartphone. But before he can rule, the judge said, he wants Apple to explain whether the government’s request would be “unduly burdensome.” Judge Orenstein, one of a handful of magistrates across the country who are activists in the surveillance debate, is trying to stoke a similar discussion on encryption, colleagues and analysts say.
benton.org/headlines/court-order-federal-judge-seeks-fuel-debate-about-data-encryption | Washington Post
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CALIFORNIA NOW HAS THE NATION'S BEST DIGITAL PRIVACY LAW
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Kim Zetter]
California continued its long-standing tradition for forward-thinking privacy laws when Gov Jerry Brown (D-CA) signed a sweeping law protecting digital privacy rights. The landmark Electronic Communications Privacy Act bars any state law enforcement agency or other investigative entity from compelling a business to turn over any metadata or digital communications -- including e-mails, texts, documents stored in the cloud -- without a warrant. It also requires a warrant to track the location of electronic devices like mobile phones, or to search them. The legislation, which easily passed the Legislature in Sept, is the most comprehensive in the country, says the American Civil Liberties Union. “This is a landmark win for digital privacy and all Californians,” said Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties policy director at the ACLU of California. “We hope this is a model for the rest of the nation in protecting our digital privacy rights.” Five other states have warrant protection for content, and nine others have warrant protection for GPS location tracking. But California is the first to enact a comprehensive law protecting location data, content, metadata and device searches.
benton.org/headlines/california-now-has-nations-best-digital-privacy-law | Wired
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PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE URGES WIRELESS INDUSTRY TO PROTECT PERSONAL DATA OF LOW-INCOME AMERICANS
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Shiva Stella]
Public Knowledge and 11 other consumer advocacy groups filed an Opposition to the CTIA - The Wireless Association’s petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its authority to safeguard sensitive information of Lifeline program participants. The FCC’s June 2015 Order permits telephone providers to copy and store highly sensitive personal data of Lifeline applicants, including social security numbers, tax records and addresses. Public Knowledge argues in this Opposition that failure by carriers to protect this extremely personal data would expose Lifeline applicants to identity theft and predatory marketing practices. The organizations further explain that CTIA’s arguments are procedurally flawed and without legal merit. Harold Feld, Senior Vice President at Public Knowledge, said, "It is disgraceful that the wireless industry disputes their obligation to protect information collected to qualify for a federal anti-poverty program. The information collected is exactly what a hacker would want for identity theft, or what unscrupulous providers would want to sell to predatory marketers. This petition is even more outrageous because the carriers themselves asked for permission to digitally scan and store the information rather than keep cumbersome -- but unhackable -- paper files. Having gotten permission to keep digital files, the industry now wants to go back on its pledge to protect the information through enforceable rules. Essentially, the wireless industry is presenting the most vulnerable among us with a choice -- ‘give up your privacy rights in exchange for federal aid.’ The FCC should move quickly to protect the privacy of low-income Americans and deny CTIA’s petition.”
benton.org/headlines/public-knowledge-urges-wireless-industry-protect-personal-data-low-income-americans | Public Knowledge | Public Knowledge Opposition to the CTIA
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FCC PRIVACY
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler dated Oct. 9, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), vice chair of the House Commerce Committee, joined by a baker's dozen Republicans including Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), said the FCC's potential entry into the privacy regulation space was "troubling" for a number of reasons:
1. The FTC has been the sole Internet privacy regulator.
2. The Title II reclassification was done unilaterally. They said the FCC's "jurisdictional appetite" was problematic.
3. The FCC does not have the technical expertise to regulate privacy, they argue, citing FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright's testimony to Congress that the FCC's assumption of privacy oversight would create "obstacles to protecting consumers."
benton.org/headlines/republicans-diss-dual-privacy-regime | Broadcasting&Cable
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ACCESSIBILITY
US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AWARDS $20 MILLION TO INCREASE ACCESS TO ICT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
[SOURCE: Department of Education, AUTHOR: Press release]
The US Department of Education announced a grant of $20 million to the University of Wisconsin for a pilot project through the Disability Innovation Fund -- Automated Personalization Computing Project (APCP). The grant is designed to improve broadband infrastructure so that devices automatically adjust into a format based on the user’s preferences and abilities. The project will help individual users find and specify the formats and accommodations that work best for them. Individuals with disabilities often face barriers trying to access information or communication technologies in the various aspects of their lives, whether it is in education, employment, or day-to-day activities. The APCP has the chance to bring the maximum potential of the 21st century to the lives of people with disabilities by increasing access to information and communications technology and reducing barriers for people with disabilities. People with disabilities would be able to access, on a secure basis, this computer information no matter where they were, no matter what type of computer they were on, or what software programs were being used, so long as the computer was APCP-enabled with web access. The grant is being funded under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services’ (OSERS) Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).
benton.org/headlines/us-department-education-awards-20-million-increase-access-ict-individuals-disabilities | Department of Education
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TELEVISION
FUTURE OF TELEVISION
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: Eriq Gardner]
The past and future of the TV cable box is at the center of a big war-of-words at the Federal Communications Commission. The fight has gotten scant press attention, but it's a subject that's fueling strong commentary from the likes of tech giants Google and Amazon and even dividing Hollywood. The Motion Picture Association of America is even going so far as to suggest that a proposal to revolutionize the TV device market would violate both the First and Fifth Amendments to the US Constitution. The Writers Guild disagrees. Upon direction from Congress, the FCC is looking at new standards for "downloadable security" on set-top boxes. That might sound dry until one realizes that it has something to do with cable boxes currently costing the average household $231 a year, new cheaper devices such as Roku or Amazon's FireTV entering the market, and the fact that Netflix, HBO, CBS and other programmers are delivering "over the top" services. Who controls how television will be presented? Do consumers wants lots of apps to choose from? Or do they want more nimble devices? These are some of the big questions being considered by media regulators.
benton.org/headlines/does-future-television-belong-device-or-app | Hollywood Reporter
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EDUCATION
THE QUESTION ISN'T WHETHER TECHNOLOGY IS GOOD FOR YOUR KID
[SOURCE: New America Foundation, AUTHOR: Lisa Guernsey]
[Commentary] You’ve heard the worry -- or maybe you harbor it yourself: App mania, video games, and TV are sucking children into a vortex of mindless entertainment, replacing the social interactions they need to help develop their minds as well as the focused concentration on letters, words, and sentences they need to become strong readers. Digital media is so powerful that it is essentially crippling their chances of success. But recently, guests at New America’s Washington (DC), office heard my co-author Michael H. Levine and me provide a different narrative. Yes, digital media is a powerful force in the lives of children and families, which is exactly why we have to harness that power to promote literacy. No more cheerleading for technology nor chastising parents and teachers for the use of it. Parents, educators, and policymakers should take a “third way” approach that is human-powered first and tech-assisted second.
benton.org/headlines/question-isnt-whether-technology-good-your-kid | New America Foundation
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WIRELESS/SPECTRUM
FCC COMMISSIONER ROSENWORCEL ON 5G AND THE NEED FOR MORE SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Revere Digital, AUTHOR: Revere Digital]
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission said that the wireless industry needs more spectrum and that the government should be willing to chip in to help. A huge swath of airwaves are reserved for various federal departments, ranging from defense to firefighting, that could be better utilized either by being shared with private industry or given over entirely for commercial use. “We doled out those airwaves to the government authorities when spectrum wasn’t quite so scarce,” Commissioner Rosenworcel said, noting that there is growing bipartisan interest in studying how to reallocate this spectrum. Commissioner Rosenworcel has also been outspoken on the need for the United States to move more quickly on next-generation cellular networks, known as 5G. She is a proponent of allocating certain higher-frequency bands of spectrum for this coming generation of wireless devices and combining it with “small-cell technology,” which uses small radio towers to boost a network’s capacity in urban areas where the demand is greatest. “In the next few weeks at the FCC we are going to vote on the rule-making that identifies some of those high bands of spectrum and to figure out how to push forward on 5G,” Rosenworcel said.
benton.org/headlines/fcc-commissioner-jessica-rosenworcel-5g-and-need-more-spectrum | Revere Digital
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SECURING RF-DEVICES AMID CHANGING TECHNOLOGY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Julius Knapp]
In the summer of 2015, the Federal Communications Commission opened a rulemaking proceeding with the goal of modernizing our approval process for radio devices to help us keep pace with the accelerating introduction of an ever-expanding breadth of wireless devices and products into the marketplace. But flexible use requires manufacturers, users, and the FCC to be even more vigilant in monitoring and preventing harmful interference -- and that’s where this new rulemaking proceeding plays a critical role. The rulemaking will establish for all device approvals a policy that the FCC has adopted for individual device categories over the last few years of requiring manufacturers to certify that a device cannot be modified by the installation of third party software in a way that causes those devices to create harmful interference. Our 2014 guidance on the 5 GHz rules has prompted some question as to whether the intent of the current proceeding is to ban third party firmware installation on devices, particularly for Wi-Fi routers. To be clear, it is not: like the U-NII rules we adopted, the proposed rules do not require device makers to prevent installation of third party firmware or otherwise favor specific security solutions. The cornerstone of a flexible use spectrum regime is interference prevention and, this requires that devices operate within their authorized parameters. The proposed rules aim to create a certification process that recognizes this goal without creating burdensome red tape for manufacturers and headaches for users while also allowing innovative solutions by 3rd party vendors. It’s critical that we get the details right, and we look forward to fielding comments in the record this fall.
benton.org/headlines/securing-rf-devices-amid-changing-technology | Federal Communications Commission
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GOOGLE, APPLE AND SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Cade Metz]
Google and Apple have pushed us closer to a world in which we’re freed from the tyranny of wireless carriers. Declan Ganley, the CEO of Rivada Networks, wants to take us all the way there. With its latest Android phones, Google is offering a wireless service, dubbed Project Fi, that automatically switches between Sprint and T-Mobile, depending upon whose signal is strongest. In every new iPad, Apple now offers a SIM card that lets you try various providers—including Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T—before choosing one. In some cases, you can just as easily drop one carrier for another. Wielding the power that comes with building the world’s most popular phones, Google and Apple are moving us toward a world where we can move seamlessly between carriers from month to month, day to day, even moment to moment. Ganley wants to create a truly free market for wireless service, one in which companies like Apple and Google bid for the use of services from Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and beyond. Such a market would work much like the electricity market works today.
benton.org/headlines/google-and-apple-would-make-cell-service-better-bidding | Wired
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FCC REFORM
YOUR FEEDBACK IS BUILDING A BETTER WEBSITE
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: Dr. David Bray]
You spoke; we listened. Since our last update on our FCC.gov modernization project, we built a new Beta (ie test) version of FCC.gov based on your input, and we need your feedback again. Building upon the foundation of extensive user research done earlier in 2015 -- and coupled with additional input we will receive during this Beta period -- the new FCC.gov will be more useful and accessible to FCC stakeholders. The new Beta site is Drupal-based and responsive, meaning the display will optimize based upon the device you are using to view the site such as PC, mobile phone, or tablet. The Beta website is also connected to our document databases, EDOCS and ECFS, via application programming interfaces (APIs). The APIs allow real-time EDOCS and ECFS updates to display in 'Headlines' and 'Most Active Proceedings'. FCC applications will also be updated and increasingly cloud-based, similar to our new Consumer Help Desk. All of the content that resides on the current FCC.gov has already been migrated to the new, Drupal-based site. We are currently integrating this content into new information architecture, meaning additional and improved ways of accessing and interacting with all the information currently available on FCC.gov. Finally, with considerable help from FCC's Bureau and Office staff, we have created a new taxonomy that will be used to classify web content. This will allow us to use Drupal features that make search easier, allow for better content discoverability across the site, and automate lists of content on a variety of topics.
benton.org/headlines/your-feedback-building-better-fccgov | Federal Communications Commission
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
IN A FIRST, CHINESE HACKERS ARE ARRESTED AT THE BEHEST OF THE US GOVERNMENT
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Nakashima, Adam Goldman]
The Chinese government has quietly arrested a handful of hackers at the urging of the US government -- an unprecedented step to defuse tensions with Washington at a time when the Obama Administration has threatened economic sanctions. The action came a week or two before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington late in Sept. The hackers had been identified by US officials as having stolen commercial secrets from US firms to be sold or passed along to Chinese state-run companies. The arrests come amid signs of a potential change in the power balance between the US and Chinese governments on commercial cyberespionage, one of the most fraught issues between the two countries. Now, Administration officials are watching to see if China will follow through with prosecutions. A public trial is important not only because that would be consistent with established principles of criminal justice, but because it could discourage other would-be hackers and show that the arrests were not an empty gesture. Administration officials say they are not sure whether the arrests mark a deeper shift in China’s stance -- or whether they were a short-term move to avoid getting hit by sanctions.
benton.org/headlines/first-chinese-hackers-are-arrested-behest-us-government | Washington Post
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CYBER ARMS RACE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Damian Paletta, Danny Yadron, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries]
Countries toiled for years and spent billions of dollars to build elaborate facilities that would allow them to join the exclusive club of nations that possessed nuclear weapons. Getting into the cyberweapon club is easier, cheaper and available to almost anyone with cash and a computer. A series of successful computer attacks carried out by the US and others has kicked off a frantic and destabilizing digital arms race, with dozens of countries amassing stockpiles of malicious code. The programs range from the most elementary, such as typo-ridden emails asking for a password, to software that takes orders from a rotating list of Twitter handles. The proliferation of these weapons has spread so widely that the U.S. and China—longtime cyber adversaries—brokered a limited agreement not to conduct certain types of cyberattacks against each other, such as intrusions that steal corporate information and then pass it along to domestic companies. Cyberattacks that steal government secrets, however, remain fair game.
benton.org/headlines/cyberwar-ignites-new-arms-race | Wall Street Journal
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