Technology programs would see significant increases in funding under the Biden Administration’s first budget plan. As has become customary, the Biden Administration has released a summary of its first budget request instead of a full budget. The $1.5 trillion dollar plan would radically remake the federal government by providing more to the domestic side of … Continue reading First Biden Budget Request
Other Developments United States (U.S.) and European Union (EU) negotiators continue to work towards a new arrangement that would once again allow the personal data of EU residents to be imported to the U.S. for processing under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The U.S. and EU have been in talks since last July when … Continue reading Other Developments, Further Reading, and Coming Events (5 April 2021)
Other Developments California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was confirmed as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, but before he left this position, he named Matt Rodriguez Chief Deputy Attorney General. Rodriguez will be the acting Attorney General until Governor Gavin Newsom (D) nominates a person the legislature confirms.The White House indicated President Joe … Continue reading Other Developments, Further Reading, and Coming Events (25 March 2021)
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)
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)
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 Russian hack of many agencies through SolarWinds. What changes as a result is the key question. In its first hearing of the new Congress, the House Homeland Security Committee delved into United States (U.S.) public and private sector cybersecurity in light of the seemingly massive SolarWinds hack. However, one of … Continue reading House Committee Kicks Off With Cybersecurity Hearing
Further Reading “What We Learned From Apple’s New Privacy Labels” By Brian X. Chen — The New York Times. Another look at the App Store privacy labels Apple has rolled out and how confusing they can be. It can be confusing to compare the privacy and data usage afforded by a developer such that its … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (3 February 2021)
Further Reading “President Biden’s Tech To-Do List” By Shira Ovide — The New York Times. Another survey of the pressing tech issues President Joe Biden and his Administration will grapple with.“Trying to improve remote learning? A refugee camp offers some surprising lessons” By Javeria Salman — The Hechinger Report. An organization that is helping refugee … Continue reading Further Reading, Other Developments, and Coming Events (26, 27, and 28 January 2021)
On the last full day of his administration, then President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) “to address the use of United States Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) products by foreign malicious cyber actors.” This EO follows an Obama Administration EO that set up a formal structure to sanction foreign entities for “significant malicious … Continue reading Trump Issues Cloud EO; Its Fate Is Unclear
Michael Kans 