The BROWSER Act (S. 1116)

First things first, if you would like to receive my Technology Policy Update, email me. You can find some of these Updates from 2019 here. My apologies. I thought I had posted this write up and others on the various privacy and data protection bills. In any event, I'll be doing some remedial work of … Continue reading The BROWSER Act (S. 1116)

Supreme Court to Hear CFAA Case

The U.S.’s top court takes on a statute that could criminalize violating terms of service. Currently, there are two different views among federal appeals courts, meaning one’s criminal liability depends on where they are charged.   The Supreme Court of the United States (Court) will consider a case on the scope of the “Computer Fraud … Continue reading Supreme Court to Hear CFAA Case

Fourth Volume of Report in 2016 Russian Hacking Endorses IC’s Conclusions

In a report that largely vindicates the Intelligence Community’s (IC) assessment of the 2016 election, a Senate committee continues with its investigation of Russian hacking with a heavily redacted fourth volume. The Republican-led committee rebuts the President’s assertions the IC was wrong and biased.   The Senate Intelligence Committee has released the fourth of five … Continue reading Fourth Volume of Report in 2016 Russian Hacking Endorses IC’s Conclusions

Becerra Deflects Calls To Delay Implementation of CCPA

Through the issuance of a press release, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra answered the calls for delaying enforcement of the “California Consumer Privacy Act” (CCPA) (AB 375), by “reminding consumers of their data privacy rights amidst the COVID-19 public health emergency.” Last month, some industry stakeholders pressured Becerra to delay enforcement of the CCPA because … Continue reading Becerra Deflects Calls To Delay Implementation of CCPA

GAO Finds DOD Failed To Follow Through On Its Cyber Hygiene Initiatives

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Department of Defense (DOD) has failed to fully implement three separate initiatives to instill better cyber hygiene across the Pentagon and its component agencies. This report necessarily throws into question how well the DOD can ride herd on its component agencies and service branches to force the … Continue reading GAO Finds DOD Failed To Follow Through On Its Cyber Hygiene Initiatives

Executive Order Formalizes Review of Foreign Investment in Telecommunications

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order creating an inter-agency review body to determine whether foreign investment in U.S. telecommunications companies presents national security issues. However, the executive order merely formalizes and change the longstanding “Team Telecom” process through which proposed foreign investment in the U.S. telecommunications industry have been evaluated. Like the previous … Continue reading Executive Order Formalizes Review of Foreign Investment in Telecommunications

EC Calls For EU-Wide Approach on Big Data and COVID-19

The European Commission (EC) met in Brussels last week and issued a recommendation outlining what it hopes will be a unified approach throughout the European Union (EU) on how smartphones and data are used to fight the spread of COVID-19. The EC laid out an ambitious timeline and explained “[t]he first priority for the Toolbox … Continue reading EC Calls For EU-Wide Approach on Big Data and COVID-19

CISA Guides Agencies On Telework Best Practices and Security

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued guidance to federal agencies to help them establish and maintain telework for their employees and contractors that comports with a recently revamped program to ensure that federal civilian agencies are limiting their cyber risk and exposure. The ad hoc guidance comes at … Continue reading CISA Guides Agencies On Telework Best Practices and Security

Further Reading (11 April)

First things first, if you would like to receive my Technology Policy Update, email me. You can find some of these Updates from 2019 here. “Taiwan joins Canada in banning Zoom for government video conferencing” – CBC and “Video service Zoom taking security seriously: U.S. government memo” – Reuters. The island nation joined Canada in … Continue reading Further Reading (11 April)

Technology Policy Update (10 April)

First things first, if you would like to receive my Technology Policy Update, email me. You can find some of these Updates from 2019 here. Here are the articles from this edition: “Paper” Hearing on COVID-19 and Big DataDOD Revises Cybersecurity Model For Contractors; Accreditation Body Holds WebinarEC Calls For EU-Wide Approach on Big Data … Continue reading Technology Policy Update (10 April)