November 2015

Sen Angus King (I-ME) has sent a letter to federal regulators seeking clarity about how FairPoint Communications will be held accountable as it uses millions in federal subsidies to expand broadband Internet access in rural Maine. The letter comes three months after the Federal Communications Commission announced it was awarding $13.3 million a year for six years to FairPoint to help offset the high cost of providing broadband access to areas of rural Maine.
The money, which will total nearly $80 million over the life of the project, comes from the second round of Connect America Fund, or CAF, grants.

Sen King and two other senators sent a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, asking him to provide more details about the accountability and enforcement measures the agency has in place to make sure companies that receive federal broadband subsidies make good use of the funds. “We believe strict enforcement measures, coupled with transparency around how, where and when the funds are used are necessary to ensure the integrity of the (Connect America Fund) program,” the senators wrote.

Lots of fiber-optic cable in the United States runs along right-of-way routes for highways and railroads because it offers telecommunication companies a straight-shot easement over a really long distance. Apparently, this method is as popular on defunct rail routes as it is on active ones, a lesson I learned while driving in north Utah along the original route of the transcontinental railroad, near Lucin. Driving down a dirt road toward the old railroad grade, I passed old AT&T buried fiber signage. I was about five miles outside of the absolute middle of nowhere, so seeing a post for buried fiber-optic cable seemed a little weird. Following the arrow on the sign took me to another post, and a manhole.

The Chinese military scaled back its cybertheft of American commercial secrets in the wake of Justice Department indictments of five officers, and the surprising drawdown shows that the law enforcement action had a more significant impact than is commonly assumed, current and former US officials said. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not substantially reengaged in commercial cyberespionage since then-Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced charges against the officers in May 2014, the officials said. “The big picture is that from 2014 on, the Administration pursued a much more direct and coercive approach with China, and it has produced results over time,” said Evan Medeiros, a former senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council.

In September, during a state visit, China President Xi Jinping pledged to President Barack Obama that China would not conduct economic spying in cyberspace to benefit its own companies. “China strongly opposes and combats the theft of commercial secrets and other kinds of hacking attacks,” he said. It is still unclear whether President Xi will be able to deliver on that promise. As the United States and China prepare for high-level cyber-talks in Washington Dec 1, some officials and private-sector analysts say there is evidence that China’s civilian spy agency, the Ministry of State Security, continues to conduct significant commercial espionage operations

As toys go high-tech, hackers are zeroing in on a particularly vulnerable target -- children. VTech, a Hong Kong-based company that sells baby monitors and digital learning toys such as children's tablets, announced that the data for 5 million "customer accounts and related kids profiles worldwide" were compromised as part of a cyberattack. The stolen data included names and birth dates of kids, mailing addresses and e-mail addresses, as well as what e-books, learning games and other software were downloaded to toys, the company said. Credit card information and Social Security numbers were not breached. Privacy advocates warn that the VTech incident may be one of many online breaches that will involve children. Companies are increasingly producing and marketing high-tech toys that link dolls and games to the Internet -- as well as information about the kids playing with them. But the V-tech breach shows this data isn't always being guarded well.