Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

A newly drafted United States nuclear strategy that has been sent to President Trump for approval would permit the use of nuclear weapons to respond to a wide range of devastating but non-nuclear attacks on American infrastructure, including what current and former government officials described as the most crippling kind of cyberattacks. For decades, American presidents have threatened “first use” of nuclear weapons against enemies in only very narrow and limited circumstances, such as in response to the use of biological weapons against the United States.

Five federal policymakers offered their familiar visions of core regulatory issues, including spectrum policy and network neutrality, during Consumer Electronics Show sessions.  With Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai absent because of death threats he has recently received, and Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel opting to skip the program, the sessions were largely status reports on activities at the FCC, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration and Federal Trade Commission. 

The same Russian government-aligned hackers who penetrated the Democratic Party have spent the past few months laying the groundwork for an espionage campaign against the U.S. Senate, a cybersecurity firm said. The revelation suggests the group often nicknamed Fancy Bear, whose hacking campaign scrambled the 2016 U.S. electoral contest, is still busy trying to gather the emails of America’s political elite.

The White House took steps to protect access to the media and speech in Iran. Those were part of a series of moves meant to signal that, while the President was again waiving nuclear-related sanctions--the U.S. still had lots of issues with that country, including that it is the leading state sponsor of terrorism and oppresses, tortures and silences its people.

Let me lay out some of the priorities that I'll be pursuing over the next year at NTIA. For those of you who know me, you know that spectrum policy is a passion of mine, so it's no surprise that it will be a major focus this year. The next generation of wireless connectivity is poised to unlock fantastic innovations and life-changing technologies, and America has been leading the way when it comes to developing 5G. We must do everything we can this year and beyond to accelerate America's 5G leadership.

[Commentary] For the better part of 20 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has engaged in a relentless assault against democratic institutions abroad, universal values and the rule of law.

Senate Commerce Committee Chiarman John Thune (R-SD) will convene a hearing titled “Terrorism and Social Media: #IsBigTechDoingEnough?” at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 17, 2018. The hearing will examine the steps social media platforms are taking to combat the spread of extremist propaganda over the Internet.  Representatives from major technology firms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will testify. 

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray renewed a call for tech companies to help law enforcement officials gain access to encrypted smartphones, describing it as a “major public safety issue.”  Director Wray said the bureau was unable to gain access to the content of 7,775 devices in fiscal 2017 — more than half of all the smartphones it tried to crack in that time period — despite having a warrant from a judge. “Being unable to access nearly 7,800 devices in a single year is a major public safety issue,” he said, taking up a theme that was a signature issue of his predecessor, James B. Comey.

Two critical vulnerabilities that affect modern computer processing chips are about to become a huge headache for governments worldwide. The vulnerabilities could allow hackers to pilfer sensitive data from virtually all modern computing devices, ranging from computers to smartphones to cloud infrastructure. Experts believe that they may be the most dangerous computer processor flaws to date.

While USAC is encouraged that its information technology systems delivered continual reliability and availability improvements for our universal service program participants and contributors in 2017, we agree with your assessment that USAC must redouble its efforts to ensure that we are adequately planning, coordinating, testing and reviewing our systems to ensure that they are functional, reliable, and secure.