Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

State attorneys general (AGs), for better or worse, are increasingly important actors in tech policy. The internet is a greenfield regulatory opportunity, and in the tech policy realm, AGs are flexing their muscle on online privacy, net neutrality, and data security.

President Donald Trump tweeted that China was behind a hack of Hillary Clinton's emails, in an apparent reference to an article published by the conservative Daily Caller website. China denied the allegation. "Hillary Clinton’s Emails, many of which are Classified Information, got hacked by China.

GOP lawmakers on the House Commerce Committee are urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve a platform listing common cyber vulnerabilities. Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rep Gregg Harper (R-MS), and Rep Rob Latta (R-OH), wrote a letter to Homeland Security Sec Kirstjen Nielsen suggesting that the program is granted a line item in the DHS budget instead of receiving uneven funding through contracts.

The FBI is asking a federal judge in CA to force Facebook to break the encryption on its Messenger app so investigators can listen in on an alleged MS-13 gang member's voice conversations. The case, which remains under seal, raises some of the same privacy concerns as the FBI’s unsuccessful effort to force Apple to engineer a way into the encrypted iPhone of one of the San Bernardino (CA) mass shooters. But the FBI’s request in the Facebook case could have a broader impact, since the bureau reportedly wants to intercept communications in real time.

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. announced the selection of Roscoe Howard, Jr. to be the Special Compliance Coordinator (SCC) for Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation, of Shenzhen, China and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. of Hi-New Shenzhen, China (collectively, ZTE). The Special Compliance Coordinator was selected after a rigorous search by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

Technology giants increasingly are casting themselves as defenders of online integrity as American democracy, yet again, comes under attack. A recent string of revelations from companies including Facebook, Microsoft and Google about foreign hacking and disinformation amount to a public answer to charges that the technology industry should have done more to thwart Russia’s online attacks in 2016.

T-Mobile, the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier, said that it had discovered a data breach potentially affecting some of its customers' account information. No financial data was stolen in the incident, the company said, but some personal details such as customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and account numbers may have been compromised. In a statement on its website, T-Mobile said it uncovered the hack on Aug 20. The company “promptly reported it to authorities” and shut down the attack.

“The work you see now from Facebook, Microsoft and others to be more proactive is a trend that is positive — it’s part of the solution, and I would want to see that trend continue,” said Graham Brookie, director of the Digital Forensic Research Lab at the Atlantic Council, a think tank that has been working with Facebook on election-security issues. “Is this a solution? No, definitely not.”  

Silicon Valley’s biggest social media companies provide some of the best tools for spreading propaganda. Social media poses an ongoing risk that will only grow without a coordinated effort to prevent manipulation. “The main takeaway from Facebook's announcement is not just that Russia-style meddling is exportable, but that it's inevitable,” said Chris Meserole, a fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. “If Moscow authored the playbook, Tehran read it word for word, and they won't be the only country to do so.