Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

On January 12, Federal Communications Commissioner Olivia Trusty spoke at the Hudson Institute about national security, network security, and telecommunications infrastructure. "When Americans think about national security, they often picture warships, warfighters parachuting out of helicopters, satellites, intelligence agencies, cyber defenders, and more. Those images matter," said Commissioner Trusty. "But underneath all of those images is something more fundamental: the strength and security of the communications infrastructure that connects our country. Our military runs on it.

We are advancing a Build America Agenda—a concrete plan to unleash high-speed infrastructure builds, drive down prices for consumers, and restore U.S. leadership in wireless. We are reinvigorating the agency’s consumer protection work, including its efforts to crack down on illegal robocalls. We are empowering broadcasters to meet their public interest obligations.  We are strengthening America’s national security and advancing public safety. We are undertaking the largest deregulatory effort in the agency’s history.

TikTok signed agreements with three major new investors to help form an American version of TikTok, bringing it one step closer to completing a deal to keep the app operating in the United States. The agreements do not mean that a deal for an American version of TikTok is done, as these investors would form only 45 percent of the new ownership. It’s not clear where the rest of the deal stands.

Sen Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced legislation affording essential data privacy rights to vehicle owners across America. The Auto Data Privacy and Autonomy Act will give motor vehicle owners control over their personal data by outlawing its sale and collection by car manufacturers without drivers’ consent, and barring data sharing with adversarial nations such as China.

A US telecommunications company trained an AI model on years of inmates’ phone and video calls and is now piloting that model to scan their calls, texts, and emails in the hope of predicting and preventing crimes. Securus Technologies president Kevin Elder said the company began building its AI tools in 2023, using its massive database of recorded calls to train AI models to detect criminal activity.

The Federal Communications Commission took action to rescind a prior Declaratory Ruling misconstruing the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).  The Order also withdraws an Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that accompanied that Declaratory Ruling, which was based in part on the Declaratory Ruling’s legal analysis and proposed cybersecurity requirements.

Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr strongly opposing an effort by the FCC’s Republican majority to roll back rules put in place after the China-sponsored Salt Typhoon hack to better protect U.S. data networks from future attacks. Sen Cantwell wrote, "Your proposal to rescind this ruling would undermine the FCC’s ability to hold carriers accountable for protecting our nation’s critical communications infrastructure.

Federal Communications Commissioner Anna Gomez released a statement in advance of a vote by the FCC to roll back the only concrete federal regulatory action taken in response to the Salt Typhoon breach, which U.S. officials described as the worst telecommunications hack in the nation’s history. “Ten months into this Administration, this FCC has still not put forward a single actionable solution to address the growing cybersecurity threat to our communications networks. Not one concrete proposal. Not one protection standard.

Artificial intelligence is rewriting the playbook for crime, from cheap 

As cyberattacks continue to hammer networks and critical infrastructure across the globe—threatening economic stability and global trust—it has never been more important for both the public and private sectors to work together on resilient security solutions.