Benton RSS Feed
A White House effort to improve the cybersecurity of the nation’s commercial power grid could soon be expanded to other critical sectors, such as transportation and water.
The Energy and Homeland Security departments kicked off the initiative, known as the Electricity Sector Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model, this year as an effort to assess and improve the security of thousands of utility companies. A key component of the initiative is a self-evaluation survey of more than 300 questions that helps utilities evaluate their cybersecurity, identify gaps and plan how to mitigate risks and implement necessary changes.
Among the questions asked, for example, are whether:
- Cybersecurity requirements are considered when establishing relationships with suppliers and other third parties.
- Personnel vetting, such as background checks and drug tests, is performed at hire for positions that have access to electrical delivery assets.
- Training programs are aligned to support cybersecurity workforce management objectives.
Utilities’ cyber survey may be model for other industries
On Wednesday, Dec. 5, wireless users may not pause to celebrate that it has been two years since the launch of Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network, yet every day they experience how it has transformed their lives.
4G LTE wireless networks mean that what was once considered only in the realm of desktop computers – or someone’s imagination – is now seamlessly mobile. Video is now available from anywhere with mobile streaming. Whether it’s watching user-generated clips, favorite entertainment programs or video chatting with friends and family, the growth of 4G LTE has changed the way we watch and share video. Games can support better graphics and multiplayer options over 4G LTE, and users can take advantage of smart accessories like the Helo TC Touch Controlled Helicopter, a helicopter controlled through a smartphone application.
In Two Years 4G LTE Has Changed the Mobile Lifestyle
Cellphone bills can be confusing messes filled with activation fees and one time charges, but AT&T wants to help its customers navigate them a little better by offering personalized video explanations of every bill. Rather than a general overview of frequently asked billing questions, the new videos have itemized explanations of your monthly bill, and will be available via email or your myAT&T account.
AT&T tries to explain your bill with a video, still doesn't do the job
NowThis News is the new mobile social video news network started by two of the Huffington Post's founders. It's Brian Williams-meets-Jon Stewart with a hint of CollegeHumor packaged into a minute-long video sent spiraling through your social networks. Is this the future of news?
NowThis News is barely in beta, yet New York media watchers are keeping close tabs on the network, which has $5 million in funding led by Lerer Ventures, where cofounders Eric Hippeau and Ken Lerer are both partners. The service targets the always-on digital natives more likely to stumble across their news on Facebook than NBC, and it doesn't emphasize a standalone web presence. You can find videos on the web, sure, but NowThis News is produced for mobile viewers. "Mobile is a different technology and employs different modes of distribution," Hippeau told me. "Video is coming into its own and we're trying to figure out what news content should look like in this format."
Will news bites for digital natives work?
Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX). He’s controversial (especially in Internet circles), and he's just been appointed to lead a committee in Congress — making him a key power player in crafting the nation’s science and technology policy.
In the days since he was chosen for the job by his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives, some have condemned the selection, questioning Congress’ preservation of the committee’s status quo and its ability to make appropriate appointments to positions that are considered vital to the nation’s future. Rep Smith is set to take over his new chairmanship of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology next year, but it’s not the veteran lawmaker’s first time sitting at the head of the table in Congress. He’s leaving the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, where in 2011 he proposed a copyright enforcement bill called the Stop Online Piracy Act. (SOPA did not go well for Representative Smith, or for the bill’s corporate backers that wanted some legislative C4 from Congress to blow up the internet.) But while SOPA’s controversy burns bright in recent memory, it’s just one data point of many. Since 1980, for nearly half of his life, Representative Smith has been a professional lawmaker — and most of those years have already been spent on the committee he’s about to lead.
Meet Lamar Smith: SOPA author, climate change skeptic, and Congress' next science boss
A group of baseball and hockey fans can go forward with claims that the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball violate U.S. antitrust law in their control over television and Internet broadcast rights.
US District Judge Shira Scheindlin in New York denied the leagues’ request to dismiss the suits, filed by subscribers to broadcasts of hockey and baseball games. The group sued the leagues; individual clubs; regional TV sports networks; Comcast, the largest U.S. cable broadcaster; and DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite television provider. The plaintiffs, seeking to represent other MLB and NHL viewers in a class-action suit, claim the practice of dividing live game broadcasts into exclusive territories, protected by local blackouts, is anti-competitive. They also targeted the sale of “out-of-market” packages only through the leagues.
Sports Broadcast Antitrust Suits Can Proceed, Judge Rules
The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Wednesday, December 12, 2012. The meeting is scheduled to commence at 1:00 p.m. in Room TW-C305, at 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The Commission is waiving the sunshine period prohibition contained in Section 1.1203 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.1203, until 5:00 pm on Thursday December 6, 2012. Thus, presentations with respect to the items listed below will be permitted until that time.
The FCC will consider:
- a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to broaden its initiatives in unleashing broadband spectrum, promoting technological innovation, and encouraging investment via the creation of a shared access broadband service in the 3550-3650 MHz band for small cell use.
- an item on developing the capability for Americans to contact 911 emergency services via text messaging, and providing automatic consumer notification where text to 911 is not supported.
- a Report and Order on reforming the FCC’s universal service support programs for healthcare that would expand healthcare providers’ access to broadband, especially in rural areas, while increasing overall efficiency and accountability in the programs.
- a Report and Order and Order of Proposed Modification to increase the Nation’s supply of spectrum for mobile broadband by adopting service rules for 40 megahertz of spectrum in the 2 GHz band (2000-2020 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz).
- a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would implement the Congressional directive in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 to grant new initial licenses for the 1915-1920 MHz and the 1995-2000 MHz bands through a system of competitive bidding.
FCC Releases Agenda for Open Commission Meeting Wednesday, December 12, 2012
House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) previewed some of the subcommittee’s 2013-2014 agenda during a keynote speech delivered at a forum hosted by the Villanova School of Business in Washington, D.C. Chairman Walden announced the subcommittee will continue to consider policies that foster innovation, encourage investment, and protect freedom through a job-focused lens.
Chairman Walden said, “Our economy still struggles with the worst recovery since the Great Depression. It may fall even further in the face of tax hike talks, runaway spending, and the fiscal cliff. There are bright spots in the economy though, including the communications sector. The industry continues to grow, to innovate, and to invest. While the industry continues to grow, it cannot sustain this kind of investment if we continue to regulate voice, video, audio, and data services under a regime that pretends we still live in an analog world run by three networks and one phone company. We need to eliminate outdated regulations to meet the promises and challenges of the Internet era. We need to harness the free market to promote investment, encourage innovation, and create jobs. And we certainly don’t need to shackle new services with old rules.” He said the Subcommittee will o conduct oversight to ensure FCC implementation of the Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum (JOBS) Act and the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act does not pick winners and losers by allocating large swaths of spectrum to favored constituencies for free thus shorting the supply of spectrum that is badly needed to meet the rising consumer demand for mobile broadband and leave public safety hanging by depriving it of the funding it needs to build out a public safety network.
In addition to continuing the efforts begun in the 112th Congress, Chairman Walden noted that the subcommittee must reauthorize satellite operators’ authority to carry broadcast television. Hearings surrounding the reauthorization will likely elicit debate about revisiting the 1992 Cable Act and 1996 Telecommunications Act, and Walden noted that the question of whether any reforms to those Acts would come in the context of the satellite television reauthorization remains to be seen. Chairman Walden concluded, “All in all, next Congress looks to be an exciting one for the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, as well as one of critical importance for our economy. I look forward to working on my panel with both parties to promote innovations, create jobs, and get our economy going again.”
House Communications and Technology Subcommittee to Continue Jobs-Focused Agenda in 113th Congress
One of the top priorities for new House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) next Congress is to bring a cybersecurity bill to the floor that has "buy-in" from industry.
When he takes up the chairman's gavel next month, Rep McCaul said he plans on meeting with industry players, including tech companies and critical infrastructure operators, to get their feedback on what measures they think should be in cybersecurity legislation. Chairman McCaul said he also hopes to travel with other committee members to various sites where critical infrastructure is housed. "I think cybersecurity legislation will be the top legislative priority for the committee next Congress and after I appoint the subcommittee chair of cybersecurity, I initially intend to hold a 'listening post' with stakeholders—whether it be the high-tech sector, critical infrastructures in the private sector—to get their take on legislation, what they would like to see in a bill in an attempt to get buy-in from the private sector in what we do," Chairman McCaul said. "You'll see a bill coming out of the Homeland Security Committee," he said. "That's one of my top priorities as chairman."
Rep McCaul: Cybersecurity legislation is 'top' priority next Congress
Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos called his company’s newly-announced Disney deal a game changer. The deal, which will bring new and catalog titles from Disney, Marvel and Pixar to the service, marks the first time a major Hollywood studio has chosen Netflix over a traditional pay TV network. But Sarandos also made it clear that he doesn’t just want to steal away big blockbusters from the likes of HBO and Starz. Throughout the conversation, he explained that Netflix aims much higher: it wants to change television forever. Asked about how TV will look like in five years, Sarandos replied: “It’s gonna look nothing like we’re seeing today.”
So what is going to change?
- Ratings don’t matter.
- Time slots are for sports and talk.
- Viewers don’t want to wait for the next episode. And Creators love this as well.
- TV is getting more personal.
How Netflix wants to change television forever