1. Monthly archive
  2. January 2016

January 2016

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
House Commerce Committee
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
10:15 a.m.
http://energycommerce.house.gov/hearing/status-public-safety-broadband-n...

Members will continue their oversight of FirstNet’s progress toward the deployment of the nationwide public safety broadband network and hear testimony on the recently released Request For Proposal and next steps. The subcommittee will also examine the Federal Communications Commission’s progress on its duties under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 with regard to FirstNet’s deployment.


It’s Time to Unlock the Set-Top Box Market

[Commentary] You can pretty much watch what you want, where you want, when you want. But there’s one glaring exception in the competitive video marketplace: The “set-top box.” I am sharing a proposal with my colleagues to tear down the barriers that currently prevent innovators from developing new ways for consumers to access and enjoy their favorite shows and movies on their terms. The new rules would create a framework for providing device manufacturers, software developers and others the information they need to introduce innovative new technologies, while at the same time maintaining strong security, copyright and consumer protections.

Nothing in this proposal changes a company’s ability to package and price its programming to its subscribers, or requires consumers to purchase new boxes. My proposal will pave the way for a competitive marketplace for alternate navigation devices, and could even end the need for multiple remote controls, allowing you to use one for all of the video sources you use. Innovation will drive more options for user-friendly menus and search functions as well as expand access to programming created by independent and diverse voices. Just as online searches today lead consumers to a breadth of information, so, too, can improved search functions lead consumers to a variety of video content that is buried behind guides or available on video services you can’t access with your set-top box today. The proposal is about one thing: Consumer choice. You should have options that competition provides. It’s time to unlock the set-top box market — let’s let innovators create, and then let consumers choose.

US Departments of Treasury and Commerce Announce Further Amendments to the Cuba Sanctions Regulations

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced new amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), respectively. These amendments further implement the new direction toward Cuba that President Barack Obama laid out in December 2014. The changes took effect on January 27, 2016, when the regulations were published in the Federal Register.

In newsgathering, BIS will generally approve license applications for exports and reexports of commodities and software to US news bureaus in Cuba whose primary purpose is the gathering and dissemination of news to the general public. In telecommunications, BIS will generally approve license applications for exports and reexports of telecommunications items that would improve communications to, from, and among the Cuban people.

Cuba's Telecommunications and Technology Opportunities

I had the privilege of participating in bilateral talks with the Cuban government focused on how we can work with Cuba to increase connectivity between our two countries, as well as within Cuba. We discussed ideas for opening more direct communications links with Cuba, and we got a better sense of Cuba’s Internet and communications connectivity needs. We also met with representatives of the small but growing entrepreneurial community that is hungry for network connectivity.

Cuba remains one of the least digitally connected countries in our hemisphere. They talk about upgrading to DSL and 3G wireless. We urged them to leapfrog such linear transitions and expand to state-of-the-art services. We pledged our support and the support of US companies to achieve this. It is unclear, however, just how anxious the Cuban government is to open up expanded network capabilities.

The Data Breach You Haven’t Heard About

[Commentary] A security breach recently discovered at software developer Juniper Networks has US officials worried that foreign hackers have been reading the encrypted communications of US government agencies for the past three years. Yet compared with the uproar over the Office of Personnel Management breach, first disclosed in June 2015, this recent breach has gone largely unnoticed. The federal government has yet to determine which agencies are using the affected software or if any agencies have used the patch to close the backdoor. Without a complete inventory of compromised systems, lawmakers are unable to determine what adversaries stole or could have stolen.

This is why I and my colleagues on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform recently wrote a letter to the heads of 24 federal agencies demanding an inventory of their systems running the affected software, and whether or not they have installed the patch. Once we learn which agencies were using the faulty software, finish patching all the systems and conduct a damage assessment, we need to examine why this older version of ScreenOS, last updated in 2011, was being used in the first place. This incident shows that backdoors to bypass encryption—even those requested by law enforcement or mandated by lawmakers—are extremely dangerous.

[Rep Hurd is chairman of the IT Subcommittee on Oversight and Government Reform]

Ensuring DHS is prepared to fight cyberattacks

[Commentary] Every day, our enemies are waging war against the United States, but those attacks are no longer confined to the physical battlefield in faraway lands. Instead, the constant barrage of cyberattacks from countries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea — not to mention cyberterrorists, including ISIS’s cyber caliphate, and hacktivists around the globe — threaten the economic, digital and national security of our Nation. The federal government isn’t the only entity susceptible to cyberattacks. American businesses are under attack, as dangerous hackers are putting jobs at risk by stealing trade secrets and sensitive information.

I was adamant that the recently-enacted Cybersecurity Act include key provisions of my legislation H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act. With this law, we now have the ability to be more efficient while protecting both our nation’s public and private networks. With these new cybersecurity authorities signed into law, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will become the sole portal for companies to voluntarily share information with the federal government, while preventing the military and NSA from taking on this role in the future. With this strengthened information-sharing portal, it is critical that we provide incentives to private companies who voluntarily share known cyber threat indicators with DHS. This is why we included liability protections in the new law to ensure all participants are shielded from the reality of unfounded litigation. While security is vital, privacy must always be a guiding principle. Before companies can share information with the government, the law requires them to review the information and remove any personally identifiable information (PII) unrelated to cyber threats. Furthermore, the law tasks DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to jointly develop the privacy procedures, which will be informed by the robust existing DHS privacy protocols for information sharing.

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