Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

Hackers possibly working for an advanced nation have infected more than 500,000 home and small-office routers around the world with malware that can be used to collect communications, launch attacks on others, and permanently destroy the devices with a single command, researchers at Cisco warned. VPNFilter—as the modular, multi-stage malware has been dubbed—works on consumer-grade routers made by Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear, TP-Link, and on network-attached storage devices from QNAP, Cisco researchers said. It’s one of the few pieces of Internet-of-things malware that can survive a reboot.

Sens Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) issued a strong call to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to identify and address fraudulent behavior that has led to potentially two million fake comments being filed under stolen identities on public rulemakings. Though they come from different sides of the aisle, Sens Merkley and Toomey share a personal connection to this issue: Both had their identities stolen to file false comments on the FCC’s net neutrality proposals.

The Senate Banking Committee rebuked President Donald Trump's efforts to ease sanctions on the Chinese telecom firm ZTE, which the intelligence community and trade regulators have warned poses a national security risk for the U.S.  The committee approved an amendment in an overwhelming and bipartisan 23-2 vote that would block President Trump from easing sanctions on ZTE without first certifying to Congress that the company is complying with US law.

Apparently, the US and China have agreed on the broad outline of a deal that would save imperiled Chinese telecom giant ZTE as the two sides move closer to resolving their trade dispute. The Trump administration would remove the ban on US companies selling components and software to ZTE, a penalty that has threatened to put the company out of business. Instead, ZTE would be forced to make big changes in management, board seats and possibly pay significant fines. Beijing has also offered to remove tariffs on billions of dollars of US farm products as part of the negotiations.

President Donald Trump uses a White House cellphone that isn’t equipped with sophisticated security features designed to shield his communications, according to two senior administration officials — a departure from the practice of his predecessors that potentially exposes him to hacking or surveillance.

A year ago, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order aimed at strengthening the cybersecurity of federal networks and critical infrastructure.  The order mandated that all federal agencies use the Cybersecurity Framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In April, NIST released version 1.1 of the Framework, which shows how this voluntary approach can provide a first line of cyber defense for companies.

The House Appropriations Committee quietly rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to help restore the US operations of the controversial Chinese tech megafirm, ZTE. Lawmakers from both parties unanimously agreed to include in an appropriations bill a provision that would uphold sanctions against the Chinese phone-maker, just days after President Donald Trump revealed in a tweet that he has directed his administration to help put the company “back in business.” The language was added to a relatively uncontroversial House spending bill, which funds the Commerce Department, among other ag

The Justice Department and the FBI are investigating Cambridge Analytica, the now-defunct political data firm, and have sought to question former employees and banks that handled its business. Prosecutors have questioned potential witnesses in recent weeks, telling them that there is an open investigation into Cambridge Analytica — which worked on President Trump’s election and other Republican campaigns in 2016 — and “associated U.S.

The Trump administration has eliminated the White House’s top cyber policy role, jettisoning a key position created during the Obama presidency to harmonize the government's overall approach to cybersecurity policy and digital warfare. The decision is part of an effort to “streamline authority” for the senior directors who lead most NSC teams.