Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

They’re calling it a moonshot—akin to sending men to the moon in the 1960s.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris (R-WA) unveiled the American Privacy Rights Act. This comprehensive draft legislation sets clear, national data privacy rights and protections for Americans, eliminates the existing patchwork of state comprehensive data privacy laws and establishes robust enforcement mechanisms to hold violators accountable, including a private right of action for individuals. The American Privacy Rights Act: 

This report fulfills an Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requirement that the Department of Defense conduct research and development, engineering studies, economic analyses, activities with respect to systems, or other planning activities to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the spectrum use of the Department of Defense in order to make available electromagnetic spectrum in the 3100-3450 MHz band for reallocation for shared Federal and non-Federal commercial licensed use and for auction.

On Saturday, March 23, 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R. 2882), legislation that provides funding through September 30, 2024, for projects and activities of departments and agencies of the Federal Government. H.R. 2882 completes the appropriations process for fiscal year 2024 (FY2024). Earlier in March, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R.

Alongside their transformative potential for good, artificial intelligence (AI) systems also pose risks of harm. These risks include inaccurate or false outputs; unlawful discriminatory algorithmic decision making; destruction of jobs and the dignity of work; and compromised privacy, safety, and security.

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Privacy and Data Protection Task Force in parallel with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other federal and state agencies announced ongoing initiatives to strengthen law enforcement efforts through increased technical expertise and cooperation, including for privacy and data protection enforcement matters. Since establishing the intra-agency Task Force in June 2023, the FCC has:

Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) led his colleagues in introducing the “Supporting National Security with Spectrum Act” to fully fund the “Rip and Replace” program to remove Chinese components from US wireless communications systems. Without full funding, wireless and broadband providers across the United States will be saddled with billions of dollars in costs that could result in service blackouts and companies closing down, including many in eastern Montana. The Rip and Replace program was created in 2020 to remove Chinese components from our wireless communications systems.

On March 20, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) N. NTIA urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reinstate strong net neutrality rules. "The Commission should act to reinstate strong net neutrality rules," said NTIA's comments. "An Internet that is open, secure, and accessible to all is an Internet that drives innovation, economic growth, and the free exchange of ideas around the world." NTIA also emphasized that reclassification can further national security objectives.

The House voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill on that would ban TikTok from operating in the US or force a sale, with lawmakers largely shrugging off a last-minute lobbying push by the Chinese-controlled service and setting the stage for a final showdown in the Senate, where lawmakers have been cooler on the legislation. The measure passed the House 352 to 65, with one member voting present, showing broad bipartisan support for cracking down on TikTok over national-security concerns. The popular short-video app has faced scrutiny over the way its algorithm works to select content for use

Spectrum is a hot topic in Washington these days, as lawmakers, lobbyists, regulators and others look for advantage ahead of the release of an implementation plan for the Biden administration's national spectrum strategy. The latest: A new bill from two top Republican Senators would require the government to reallocate at least 600MHz of midband spectrum for commercial use within three years.