Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

Information sharing on cybersecurity and election threats may become a whole lot harder after the Department of Homeland Security ended some federal funding for two partnerships used by thousands of state and local governments. A spokesperson for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed it terminated a $10 million partnership with the Center for Internet Security for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, and the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr established a new Council for National Security within the FCC. The Council will leverage the full range of the FCC’s regulatory, investigatory, and enforcement authorities to promote America’s national security and counter foreign adversaries, particularly the threats posed by the People’s Republic of China and Chinese Communist Party. Chairman Carr also named his National Security Counsel, Adam Chan, as the first Director of the FCC’s Council on National Security. The Council will have a 3-part goal:

The Consortium for School Networking is alarmed by the Administration’s decision to eliminate the staff of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology and significantly reduce cybersecurity services that protect K-12 schools. These actions threaten the progress of digital learning, widen inequities in student access to technology and expose school districts to increased cybersecurity risks. Educators across the country rely on the federal government’s technical assistance and guidance to navigate the opportunities and challenges of educational technology.

On March 4, the House of Representatives' Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), held a full committee markup to consider twelve bills in total––the committee's first legislative markup of the 119th Congress. "This Committee has a rich, bipartisan history, which we will continue in that spirit with the bills we are considering today," said Rep Guthrie in his opening remarks.

Ahead of the 2024 U.S. election, there was widespread fear that generative artificial intelligence (AI) presented an unprecedented threat to democracy.

Human rights conferences can be sobering, to say the least. They highlight the David vs. Goliath situation of small civil society organizations fighting to center human rights in decisions about technology, sometimes challenging the priorities of much more powerful governments and technology companies. But 2025's RightsCon, the 13th since the event began as the Silicon Valley Human Rights Conference in 2011, felt especially urgent.

This report summarizes the key discussions and insights from an in-person symposium held in September 2024 on the topic of children’s online safety policy. During the symposium, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) attempted to foster meaningful dialogue, identify areas of consensus and disagreement, and chart actionable paths forward. Key themes from the symposium include:

House Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2) and Rep. John Joyce, M.D. (R-PA-13) announced the establishment of a comprehensive data privacy working group. The partisan working group welcomes input from a broad range of stakeholders. Stakeholders interested in engaging with the working group can reach out to PrivacyWorkingGroup@mail.house.gov for more information. The working group will also include:

The Be Linked Alabama initiative is the state’s united effort to expand access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet to all Alabamians. Coordinated by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), Be Linked Alabama led to the development of the Alabama Statewide Digital Opportunity Plan.

The New York State Digital Equity Plan––created by the state's ConnectALL Office––envisions a state transformed by digital infrastructure that brings to all New York residents access to high-speed, reliable, and affordable broadband for education, economic growth, and full participation in civic life.