Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

A bipartisan group of leading national security senators introduced legislation to encourage and support US innovation in the race for 5G, providing over $1 billion to invest in Western-based alternatives to Chinese equipment providers Huawei and ZTE.

On Nov 6, 2019, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to act to secure the nation's next-generation, 5G telephone networks. He asked Chairman Pai several questions to "help Congress and the American people understand the FCC's plans to address this national security threat". On Jan 3, 2020, Chairman Pai responded by saying he has frequently discussed his support for addressing 5G security issues upfront.

Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) and five other lawmakers pressed the Federal Communications Commission to do more to protect consumers from scammers who hijack phone numbers to hack bank accounts and other personal information. Sens Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ed Markey (D-MA) and Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), and Ted Lieu (D-CA) joined Sen Wyden to urge FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to use the agency’s authority over wireless carriers to protect consumers against these so-called SIM swap scams. 

For years, low-income households have been able to get cheap cell service and even free smartphones via the US government-funded Lifeline Assistance program. One provider, Assurance Wireless, offers a free Android device along with free data, texts and minutes. It all sounds ideal for those who don’t have the money to splash on fancy Apple or Google phones.

The House has passed three bipartisan 5G bills, which passed out of the House Commerce Committee in Nov. The bills are primarily about considering and strategizing and encouraging, rather than commanding, which helped them get that bipartisan support. It is likely the bills will get Senate approval and President Donald Trump's signature. 

In 2020 and beyond, my principal focus will be ensuring that our communications networks and technologies support security, privacy, and our democratic values. I am optimistic that technological developments, especially 5G standards, will support our efforts to improve network and data security.

5G may seem like an unlikely battleground between China and the West. Yet the transition to 5G may mark the point, after decades of Chinese integration into a globalized economy, when Beijing’s interests diverge irreconcilably from those of the United States, the European Union, and their democratic peers. Because of a failure of imagination, Western powers risk capitulating in what has become a critical geopolitical arena.

President Donald Trump has promoted a central figure in the House impeachment inquiry who defied a subpoena to testify. Robert Blair — a top aide to acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney — was named the special representative for international telecommunications policy, a position that puts Blair in a central role atop a US effort to “promote a secure and reliable global telecommunications system.” “In this new capacity, Mr. Blair will support the Administration’s 5G efforts led by the Assistant to the President for Economy Policy, Larry Kudlow,” the White House said in a statement. “Mr.

As the 2020 presidential election heats up next year, big tech will be front and center as candidates and members of Congress grapple with questions touching online privacy, antitrust, access to broadband and more. While impeachment hearings have divided the country, when it comes to the big tech issues of the day, Republicans and

Huawei's Fifth Circuit challenge to a Federal Communications Commission ban against carriers using federal subsidies to buy its equipment is unlikely to succeed, attorneys and academics watching the case say. The Communications Act gives the FCC near “plenary authority” over how it disperses more than $4 billion in subsidies aimed at furthering universal access to internet and telephone services, Philip Verveer, who served as senior counselor to former Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, said. The subsidies generally go to rural carriers to expand services in remote areas.