Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

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

FCC Bans Equipment Authorizations For Chinese Telecommunications And Video Surveillance Equipment Deemed To Pose A Threat To National Security

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules prohibiting communications equipment deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security from being authorized for importation or sale in the United States. This is the latest step by the FCC to protect our nation’s communications networks.

The Rising Threat of Domestic Terrorism: A Review of the Federal Response to Domestic Terrorism and the Spread of Extremist Content on Social Media

This report is a culmination of three years of investigation into domestic terrorism and the federal response. This report focuses on the rise in domestic terrorism, the federal response, the allocation of federal resources to addressing domestic terrorism, and the role of social media companies in the proliferation of extremist content. The expansion of social media has led to increased recruitment, dissemination, and coordination of domestic terrorist and extremist related activities.

Elon Musk's other unfinished project

There’s one bit of the future that Elon Musk has built and isn’t interested in using: A potential power that researchers have identified in his Starlink satellite system. For the past two years, Todd Humphreys, an Army-funded researcher at the University of Texas in Austin, and a team of researchers reverse-engineered signals sent from thousands of Starlink internet satellites in low Earth orbit to ground-based receivers, finding that the constellation could form a precise navigation sy

Internal Documents Show How Close the FBI Came to Deploying Spyware

During a closed-door session with lawmakers, FBI Director Christopher Wray was asked whether the bureau had ever purchased and used Pegasus, the hacking tool that penetrates mobile phones and extracts their contents. Director Wray acknowledged that the FBI had bought a license for Pegasus, but only for research and development.

Tech for good, evil and companionship at Web Summit

The future-of-tech conversations at Web Summit  in Lisbon could have played on a split screen.

Mysterious company with government ties plays key internet role

An offshore company that is trusted by the major web browsers and other tech companies to vouch for the legitimacy of websites has connections to contractors for US intelligence agencies and law enforcement, according to security researchers, documents, and interviews. Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari, nonprofit Firefox, and others allow the company, TrustCor Systems, to act as what’s known as a root certificate authority, a powerful spot in the internet’s infrastructure that guarantees websites are not fake, guiding users to them seamlessly. The company’s Panamanian registration records sho

FCC November 2022 Open Meeting Agenda

The Federal Communications Commission has been working to fulfill three important Congressional mandates. One would enhance national security by ensuring that untrustworthy communications equipment is not authorized for use within our border. Another would empower consumers to make more informed decisions about broadband service by requiring broadband providers to display “nutrition” labels that disclose information about pricing and network performance.

Global internet gaps prompt calls for a US plan

Pressure is growing for the US to develop a plan to quickly build internet lifelines for people living in conflict zones or under repressive regimes. The absence of a broadband strategy has led to a reliance on the ad hoc goodwill of private companies, such as Elon Musk's donation of Starlink satellite to provide internet service in Ukraine. Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr said that the US needs both the ability to quickly deploy internet networks and surge the production of censorship-circumvention online tools in authoritarian countries. Rep.

No Internet, Now What? A New York Village Plans for the Worst

The Village of Lynbrook (NY) is planning for the possibility of a major Internet outage — the kind that could last six months. The village's Internet Outage Continuity Plan has distributed copies to all of its municipal departments. The document is intended to supplement other disaster recovery and business continuity plans. It maps out every function conducted by local government, identifies those involving the Internet, and lists alternative, offline methods of getting the job done.

White House rallies industry support for Internet of Things labeling effort

White House officials convened industry leaders, policy experts and government leaders to discuss plans for security and privacy standards on connected devices.