Joseph Marks

The Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to block the Chinese company Huawei from US telecommunications contracts and supply chains is unconstitutional, misguided, “arbitrary and capricious,” Huawei said. The Chinese telecom giant devoted more than 100 pages to savaging the FCC proposal, which would deny money from the commission’s Universal Service Fund to companies that purchase equipment or services from companies that are deemed threats to national security. That list would include Huawei and ZTE, another Chinese telecom.

The global internet is a lot less global than it was a few years ago. The US government, which used to be the loudest advocate for knocking down digital barriers, has begun to erect barriers of its own since the 2016 election and the Russian hacking and influence operation that upended it. US officials and lawmakers once merely condemned Russian and Chinese laws that forced tech companies to share their source code or to store citizens’ data within national borders.

State and federal emergency responders should have plans ready to go to counter rumors, misinformation and fake news in the wake of disasters, according to a new white paper from a Homeland Security Department advisory group. Those plans should include actively correcting misinformation on Facebook and Twitter with hashtags such as #rumor and #mythbuster, according to the draft report, which the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee approved for final publication Feb 22.

Congress should legislate on technology like it’s 1995, according to a policy paper from R Street Institute, a right-leaning think tank. Specifically, Congress should reinstate the Office of Technology Assessment, an internal research organization that advised congressional committees on thorny questions about emerging technology and science.

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 The money could be used to replace outdated and unsecure voting machines that lack paper receipts for votes, the Democrats’ independent election security task force said in a Nov 20 letter to leaders of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.

President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget blueprint touts major investments in cybersecurity, including a $61 million hike to help the FBI and the Justice Department combat criminals and terrorists’ use of encrypted communication tools. The document is light on specifics, however, and does not include a top line figure for cyber investments.

The budget proposal would give the Defense Department a boost of more than $50 billion, largely by ending the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, for a total request of $639 billion. That money would be aimed at building a “more capable, and more lethal joint force” and at ensuring US superiority in major domains including cyberspace. That Pentagon budget would include $7.2 billion for operations and maintenance, including improving cyber capabilities, according to a White House memo. The blueprint lacks a specific figure, however, for all DOD cyber priorities at US Cyber Command and elsewhere.

A former technology counsel for the House Commerce Committee will be heading up technology and cybersecurity policy for the National Economic Council, the White House announced. Grace Koh’s official title will be special assistant to the president for technology, telecom and cybersecurity policy. Koh was previously a policy counsel for the cable company Cox, where she focused on video, data and broadband issues and represented Cox before the Federal Communications Commission and other federal agencies. Koh was one of 13 National Economic Council officials named by Director Gary Cohn. Other officials will focus on energy, infrastructure, health care and other topics.

Donald Trump will be sworn in as the nation’s 45th president Jan 20 with cybersecurity looming larger than it has for any of his predecessors—and with many unknowns about how he’ll tackle the issue. Here’s a rundown of what we know and what we don’t.

‘Review on hacking’: Trump has promised a “major review on hacking” within his first 90 days in office, declaring, “we have no defense” and “we’re run by people that don’t know what they’re doing.”
The Giuliani Factor: The day after that press conference, Trump announced former New York City Mayor and Trump campaign supporter Rudy Giuliani would advise him on cybersecurity and help convene a rotating panel of private-sector leaders to discuss the issue. It’s unclear, however, what role that private-sector group will play in the 90-day review.
Who’s on First?: It’s also unclear if Trump will seek to rejigger the current governmental structure for cyber responsibilities and cyber incident response.
An Energized Cabinet but Few Details: Trump’s cabinet nominees have pledged to make cybersecurity a priority if confirmed, though they’ve made no hard promises and none have extensive backgrounds in the field.
An Attentive Congress: Whatever moves Trump and the executive branch make on cybersecurity, it’s clear Congress will be paying close attention and the battle over Russian sanctions will only be the starting line.

President Donald Trump’s administration Jan 20 highlighted offensive cyber actions among its first digital messages to the American people. Updates to the White House website’s issues page, posted moments after President Trump’s inauguration, included developing “defensive and offensive” capabilities at US Cyber Command and engaging in “cyber warfare” to disrupt recruiting and propaganda by the Islamic State.

The Defense Department was wary of discussing its offensive cyber capabilities during the Obama administration, acknowledging for the first time it might go on cyber offense when directed by the president in a 2015 cyber strategy update. Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter acknowledged in 2016 the military was using cyber tools to combat ISIL. Trump pledged to surge U.S. cybersecurity during his campaign and after his election, though numerous questions remain about how precisely he’ll attack the issue. Trump has signaled he may shift some domestic cyber responsibilities from the Homeland Security Department to the Defense Department, a move that would likely require the consent of Congress.

The Obama Administration made an unprecedented all-fronts effort to secure cyberspace. So, why are we less secure? For eight years, cyberspace proved the Obama Administration’s most unpredictable adversary, always twisting in new directions and delivering body blows where least expected. The administration took the cyber threat seriously from day one, launching reviews, promulgating policy, raising defenses and punishing cyberspace’s most dangerous actors. That included imposing sanctions against Russia and North Korea and indicting government-linked hackers from China and Iran.

But, in the end, cyberspace won. President Barack Obama will leave office this week following an election in which digital breaches ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin helped undermine the losing candidate Hillary Clinton, sowed doubts about the winner Donald Trump’s legitimacy and damaged faith in the nation’s democratic institutions. If there is one fundamental reason for the Obama Administration’s inability to claim victory over cybersecurity, experts and former officials say it is this: The threat grew and mutated faster than the administration’s ability to deal with it.