The Biden Administration proposes a massive $2.3 trillion bill that could fundamentally change the United States. The White House issued its long awaited infrastructure package, or at least a lengthy summary of it, another step in the legislative consideration of a follow on ostensible COVID-19 stimulus package. The media is reporting the bill would provide … Continue reading White House Issues Infrastructure Package
The IC at the end of the Trump Administration found Russian interference in the 2020 election but did not assess the impact of these efforts. The IC also found Iranian and possibly PRC interference. The United States Intelligence Community (IC) released the assessment on foreign interference with the 2020 election and found that the Russian … Continue reading U.S. Intelligence Community Again Finds Russian Efforts To Influence Election
Other Developments The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published a Joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) on the “Compromise of Microsoft Exchange Server.” The agencies stated:The FBI and CISA assess that nation-state actors and cyber criminals are likely among those exploiting these vulnerabilities. The exploitation … Continue reading Other Developments, Further Reading, and Coming Events (15, 16, and 17 March 2021)
Other Developments Two provisions were attached to the “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021” (H.R.1620) the House passed that would address the sharing of non-consensual sexual material. The fate of this bill is likely not positive in the Senate, however. Nonetheless, as summarized by House Majority Whip James Clyburn’s (D-SC) office:The amendment offered by … Continue reading Other Developments, Further Reading, and Coming Events (18 March 2021)
The Biden Administration will change course from the Trump White House on technology policy, largely through engaging allies. Naturally, the new government in Washington has articulated a new vision of how the United States (U.S.) will engage with the world and policies and policies it will pursue. Even though much of what the Biden Administration … Continue reading The U.S. Reorients Foreign Policy With An Eye On Changing Tech Policy
Further Reading “Millions of people’s data is at risk’ — Amazon insiders sound alarm over security” — By Vincent Mamancourt — Politico EU. Three whistleblowers are claiming that Amazon has widespread data protection and privacy issues, some of which may violate European Union (EU) or United States (U.S.) law. They claimed the company culture was … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events ( 1, 2, 3, and 4 March 2021)
An AI commission calls on a massive restricting of the U.S. government, particularly funding, to best the PRC in the race to AI-supremacy. The Congressionally created National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) has completed its work and has submitted its final report recommendations to Congress on how the United States (U.S.) should change U.S. … Continue reading AI Commission Hands In Final Report
Further Reading “The Long Hack: How China Exploited a U.S. Tech Supplier” By Jordan Robertson and Michael Riley — Bloomberg. This piece argues that the United States (U.S.) government knew of vulnerabilities in Super Micro Computer Inc.’s products used by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) but chose to keep them secret. This article follows … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (22, 23, 24, and 25 February 2021)
Congress starts chewing over the hack of agencies and companies, hinting at policy prescriptions. The first public hearing on the massive hack associated with SolarWinds and most likely perpetrated by the Russian intelligence services occurred this week. The Senate Intelligence Committee heard from private sector witnesses, including from SolarWinds, in what will be the first … Continue reading Senate Intelligence Views SolarWinds From The Private Sector Perspective
Further Reading “India cuts internet around New Delhi as protesting farmers clash with police” By Esha Mitra and Julia Hollingsworth — CNN; “Twitter Temporarily Blocked Accounts Critical Of The Indian Government” By Pranav Dixit — BuzzFeed News. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government again shut down the internet as a way of managing unrest or discontent … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (16 February 2021)
Michael Kans 