The use of computers and the Internet in conducting warfare in cyberspace.
Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare
It's Super Hard to Find Humans in the FCC's Net Neutrality Comments
The Federal Communications Commissions' public comment period on its plans to repeal net neutrality protections was bombarded with bots, memes, and input from people who don't actually exist. So, with the FCC declining to investigate its own comments, we decided to undertake an analysis of our own. We confirmed six bots and 11 form letters.
![](https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/fake.jpg?itok=a-uIyqlJ)
Millions of People Post Comments on Federal Regulations. Many Are Fake.
The Wall Street Journal has uncovered thousands of fraudulent comments on regulatory dockets at federal agencies, some using what appear to be stolen identities posted by computers programmed to pile comments onto the dockets. After sending surveys to nearly 1 million people—predominantly from the FCC docket—the Journal found a much wider problem than previously reported, including nearly 7,800 people who told the Journal comments posted on federal dockets in their names were fakes.
President Trump Signs Federal Ban on Kaspersky Lab Software
President Donald Trump signed into law on Dec 12 legislation that bans the use of Kaspersky Lab within the US government, capping a months-long effort to purge the Moscow-based antivirus firm from federal agencies amid concerns it was vulnerable to Kremlin influence. The ban, included as part of a broader defense policy spending bill that Trump signed, reinforces a directive issued by the Trump administration in September that civilian agencies remove Kaspersky Lab software within 90 days. The law applies to both civilian and military networks.
Ex-Spy Chief: Russia’s Election Hacking Was An ‘Intelligence Failure’
Michael Morell is one of the career types who’s broken with decades of practice to confront President Donald Trump. A veteran of nearly three decades in the CIA, Morell rose from within the ranks to become the agency’s longtime deputy director, twice serving as its acting leader before retiring during President Barack Obama’s second term. In the summer of 2016, he broke with tradition to endorse Hillary Clinton over Trump, and he has continued to sound the alarm ever since.
The CSRIC is a Federal Advisory Committee that will provide recommendations to the FCC to improve the security, reliability, and interoperability of communications systems. The meeting on December 12, 2017, will be the third meeting of the CSRIC under the current charter
Call to Order -- Jeffery Goldthorp, DFO, FCC
Opening Remarks -- Brian King, T-Mobile
Working Group Updates
WG1 - Transition Path to NG911 -- Mary Boyd, West Safety Services
WG2 - Emergency Alerting -- Farrokh Khatibi, Qualcomm
FCC Rejects New York AG Efforts in Comment Quest
Federal Communications Commission General Counsel Thomas Johnson said the agency must “respectfully decline” requests from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as part of the AG’s investigation into the fraudulent use of names on comments in the net neutrality rollback proceeding. Johnson said revealing the logs of IP addresses for some comments raises “significant personal privacy concerns” and could also endanger the security of the commission’s comment system.
Transatlantic Data Privacy
International flows of personal information are more significant than ever, but differences in transatlantic data privacy law imperil this data trade. The resulting policy debate has led the EU to set strict limits on transfers of personal data to any non-EU country—including the United States—that lacks sufficient privacy protections. Bridging the transatlantic data divide is therefore a matter of the greatest significance.
Trump White House Weighing Plans for Private Spies to Counter "Deep State" Enemies
Apparently, the Trump Administration is considering a set of proposals developed by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a retired CIA officer — with assistance from Oliver North, a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal — to provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the White House with a global, private spy network that would circumvent official U.S. intelligence agencies. The plans have been pitched to the White House as a means of countering “deep state” enemies in the intelligence community seeking to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency.
After several significant data breaches in recent years impacting hundreds of millions of Americans, malicious actors can now package consumer information from multiple stolen data sets into one stolen identity profile.The House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will examine how to verify identities and protect personal data online compromised in this new, post-breach world.
Democratic Reps wants to commit $400 million to secure future elections from hackers
A panel of Democratic Reps wants to commit $400 million to secure future elections from hackers. That $400 million is what’s left over in appropriated funds from the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which focused on making voting easier for people with disabilities. The money could be used to replace outdated and unsecure voting machines that lack paper receipts for votes, the Democrats’ independent election security task force said in a Nov 20 letter to leaders of the House Appropriations Committee.