Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

March 2024 FCC Open Meeting Agenda

Here’s what to expect at the Federal Communications Commission's March Open Meeting.

FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Advances Plan for Cybersecurity Labeling for Smart Products

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the FCC will vote at its March 14, 2024, Open Meeting on creating a voluntary cybersecurity labeling program for wireless consumer Internet of Things (IoT) products. Under the program, qualifying consumer smart products that meet cybersecurity standards would bear a label—including a new “U.S Cyber Trust Mark”—that would help consumers make informed purchasing decisions, differentiate trustworthy products in the marketplace, and create incentives for manufacturers to meet higher cybersecurity standards.

Trump dreamt of a ‘Huawei killer.’ President Biden is trying to unleash it.

As President Biden met with heads of state around the world these past couple of years, he’s been repeating a curious phrase.

Federal Communications Commissioner Simington Speaks to Silicon Flatirons

I’m excited to talk to you about what I think will be an unsettling future reality: the accelerating move from a single Internet and technology market toward one fragmented along national borders due to concerns about digital sovereignty. There was a lot of heady idealism in the early days of the Internet. The internet was a universal, open network where people from around the world could exchange services and ideas basically without restriction.

Rep Matsui Releases New FCC State-by-State Data on Rip and Replace Program

Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA) released new, updated state-by-state data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (SCRP). Previous data from the FCC was attributed to the location of a company’s corporate headquarters rather than the location of actual project sites – leading to a misrepresentation of the nationwide distribution of projects.

FCC Enforcement Bureau Announces Senior Staff Additions

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau announced senior staff appointments, adding officials with significant experience and expertise in national security, foreign investment, privacy, data protection, cybersecurity, and consumer and civil litigation matters.

N.S.A. Buys Americans’ Internet Data Without Warrants, Letter Says

The National Security Agency buys certain logs related to Americans’ domestic internet activities from commercial data brokers, according to an unclassified letter by the agency. The letter offered few details about the nature of the data other than to stress that it did not include the content of internet communications.

Cable industry puts its weight behind Internet routing security

CableLabs, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, and several large and midsized cable operators are promoting a new framework profile for secure Internet routing that they hope to expand and enhance by engaging with other types of service providers, Internet organizations and IP networking groups. CableLabs has released a "Cybersecurity Framework Profile for Internet Routing" that aims to serve as the foundation for improving the security of the Internet's routing system, with an emphasis on core routing protocols such as the Border Gateway Protocol, the Resource Public Key Infr

FCC Releases Supply Chain Reimbursement Program Third Report

The Federal Communications Commission released its third report on the implementation of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program and the work done by recipients to permanently remove, replace, and dispose of covered communications equipment or services. The Bureau submitted the Third Report to Congress to explain the additional steps the FCC has taken to implement the Reimbursement Program and to provide an update on recipient progress toward removal, replacement, and disposal of covered communications equipment and services in the intervening months.

Guiding Texas' Digital Opportunity Investments

The Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO), under the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, developed the Texas Digital Opportunity Plan to guide non-infrastructure-related digital opportunity investments. Another aim is to position the BDO to receive State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funds from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Infrastructure Administration (NTIA).

Google settles $5 billion lawsuit claiming ‘incognito’ mode was not private

Google has tentatively settled a $5 billion lawsuit accusing the tech giant of secretly tracking the internet activities of millions of users who believed its Chrome browser protected their privacy while in “incognito” mode, according to court documents. The class action lawsuit, scheduled for a February 2024 trial, was temporarily halted by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers after a preliminary settlement was reached between Google and the consumers’ lawyers. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2020, claimed that users in “incognito” mode were misled by Google’s Chrome browser, thinking

Schools could be better protected against cyber attacks if FCC approves changes pushed by 1100 districts

Schools across the country are under attack, increasingly held hostage to ransomware and other vicious online assaults costing more than $10 billion a year in downtime alone. Contracts, tax forms, and passports, along with social security numbers, birth dates, and addresses for students, parents, and staff are up for grabs on poorly secured networks that are easily taken hostage. This is why more than 1,100 school districts, along with nearly two dozen groups, signed a letter asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to react now.

FCC Adopts Updated Data Breach Notification Rules To Protect Consumers

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to modify it’s 16-year-old data breach notification rules to ensure that providers of telecommunications, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and telecommunications relay services (TRS) adequately safeguard sensitive customer information.  The action would hold phone companies accountable for protecting sensitive customer information, while enabling customers to protect themselves in the event that their data is compromised.

Republican senators want to stop the FCC from updating data-breach notification rules

It has come to our attention that the Federal Communications Commission intends to vote on a Report and Order that would violate Congress’ Resolution of Disapproval vitiating the FCC’s 2016 Broadband Privacy Order. Since the FCC has no authority to ignore Congress’ exercise of the Congressional Review Act (CRA), we urge you to withdraw the draft Report and Order to avoid resurrecting substantially similar parts of the 2016 Broadband Privacy Order that Congress nullified. The FCC’s proposed rules in the Report and Order are clearly “substantially similar” to the nullified 2016 rules.

US Debates Data Policy to Avoid a Fragmented Global Internet

The White House is racing to overcome internal differences and hash out a new policy over how the US and other governments should view the rapid rise of global data flows that are fueling everything from artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing. In a series of sessions due to begin on December 13, 2023, President Joe Biden’s national security and economic teams will meet with companies, labor and human rights advocates, and other experts on the digital economy as part of a review launched last month, according to people directly involved.

Letter from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) to US Attorney General Merrick Garland

I urge the Department of Justice (DOJ) to permit Apple and Google to inform their customers and the general public about demands for smartphone app notification records. In the spring of 2022, my office received a tip that government agencies in foreign countries were demanding smartphone “push” notification records from Google and Apple. My staff have been investigating this tip for the past year, which included contacting Apple and Google.

Federal Communications Commissioner Simington Calls For Robust US Cyber Trust Mark

The premise of the US Cyber Trust Mark is simple. As a device manufacturer, you certify that your device meets a list of cybersecurity criteria, such as that you use modern secure communications protocols and implement secure authentication, and in exchange, you get to put a flashy US Cyber Trust Mark logo on your packaging and sales materials, effectively an endorsement from the federal government of the security of your product.

Federal Communications Commission Launches First-Ever Enforcement Partnerships with State Attorneys General

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced a new initiative to strengthen and formalize the cooperation between the FCC and its state partners on privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity enforcement matters.

US stops helping Big Tech spot foreign meddling amid GOP legal threats

The US federal government has stopped warning some social networks about foreign disinformation campaigns on their platforms, reversing a years-long approach to preventing Russia and other actors from interfering in American politics less than a year before the US presidential elections. Meta no longer receives notifications of global influence campaigns from the Biden administration, halting a prolonged partnership between the federal government and the world’s largest social media company.

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for December Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 13, 2023:

Sen Cortez Masto Introduces Bills to Protect Americans' Data Online

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) reintroduced three bills to strengthen data privacy protections and safeguard Americans’ personal information. The U.S. currently has no comprehensive data privacy laws and with the rise of AI and other technologies, consumers are vulnerable to fraud, security breaches, and predatory behavior online. 

Federal Communications Commission Adopts Rules to Protect Consumers' Cell Phone Accounts

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to protect consumers against scams that aim to commandeer their cell phone accounts. The rules will help protect consumers from scammers who target data and personal information by covertly swapping SIM cards to a new device or porting phone numbers to a new carrier without ever gaining physical control of a consumer’s phone.

Rep. Luna (R-FL) Introduces Bill to Protect American Data from Foreign Adversaries

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) introduced the U.S. Data on U.S. Soil Act (H.R.6410) to protect the data security of Americans from being collected and exploited by our foreign adversaries. Specifically,  the U.S. Data on U.S. Soil would protect the data security of the American people by: 

Broadband Infrastructure Playbook 3.0

Playbook 3.0 combines four deep-dive modules that aim to help state broadband offices as they make decisions on key aspects of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and complete their initial proposals for NTIA review before a December 27 deadline. The Broadband Infrastructure Playbook 3.0 includes the following modules that offer solutions to some of the most challenging BEAD proposal requirements: