Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced at the National Conference on Domestic Violence that she will be sharing with her colleagues an Order that would help domestic violence survivors access safe and affordable connectivity. The proposed rules would implement key provisions in the Safe Connections Act of 2022 to support survivors of domestic abuse and other related crimes seeking to maintain critical connections with friends, family, and support networks. If adopted at the FCC's November 15, 2023 open meeting, the Order would:

The Federal Trade Commission has issued its latest report to Congress on protecting older adults, which highlights key trends based on fraud reports by older adults, and the FTC’s multi-pronged efforts to combat the problem through law enforcement actions, rulemaking, and outreach and education programs. The report finds that older adults reported losing more than $1.6 billion to fraud in 2022. The report’s analysis shows that older adults filed the largest number of reports about online frauds—where consumers were first exposed to the fraud via social media, the web, or online ads.

While this is not the first time the Federal Communications Commission has pursued Title II regulation purportedly to address net neutrality, it is the first time the FCC has reached beyond the no blocking, degrading, or prioritizing principles to which broadband providers already adhere. The FCC is veering into the complex realm of cybersecurity and national security via top-down regulation rather than collaborative partnership, a choice many experts view with skepticism.

On October 10, 2023, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel provided Congress with an update on the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program.

The European Commission released the results of its consultations regarding the future of the electronic communications sector and its infrastructure.

Currently, no federal agency can effectively monitor or address broadband outages that threaten jobs, education, and public safety. And while the Federal Communications Commission has acted on a bipartisan basis to secure our communications networks against companies controlled by hostile foreign governments, the lack of specific authority over broadband leaves open a national security loophole.

When Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled plans to restore net neutrality, she said reinstating the rule would “give the FCC and its national security partners the tools needed to defend our networks from potential security threats.” The rule—which gives the agency broad powers to regulate internet service as a utility, akin to water or electricity—hasn’t historically been invoked fo

Governor Laura Kelly (D-KS) alongside the Kansas Infrastructure Hub (KIH), launched the Build Kansas Fund, which provides state matching dollars to Kansas communities for infrastructure projects approved under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The Build Kansas Fund will invest $200 million directly into Kansas communities to support projects that include broadband, water, transportation, energy, and cybersecurity through Fiscal Year 2027. Eligible entities include Kansas state agencies, counties, municipalities, special districts, community organizations, nonprofits, and fe

I want to start by thanking the Subcommittee for its decision to provide full funding for the Federal Communications Commission in your Fiscal Year 2024 FSGG bill. The work of the FCC matters. I’d like to highlight some the Commission’s recent work, made possible by your support of our budget, under my leadership. First, the Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, the largest broadband affordability program in our nation’s history, now helps 21 million households pay for high-speed internet service.

I’m here to talk about why and how against this backdrop we as a nation need to graduate to a fundamentally new mindset with regard to how our government partners with and approaches technology … leaving behind a mindset rooted in fear and articulated through regulatory fiat … and re-rooting in the modern-day reality of an interconnected planet driven by the tools and technology of broadband.