Obama Has a Plan to Fix Cybersecurity, But Its Success Depends on Trump:
The Obama White House has had to reckon with cybersecurity like no other presidential administration in history, from China’s 2009 hack of Google, to the Office of Personnel Management breach, to the rise of botnets built from dangerously insecure “internet-of-things” devices. Now, in the waning days of Obama’s presidency, his team has a new plan to shore up America’s protections from digital threats. Whether any of it happens, though, is up to Donald Trump.
Late Friday afternoon last week, the White House’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity released the results of a nine-month study of America’s cybersecurity problems. Its recommendations, in a hundred-page report, cover a lot of ground. It proposes fixing the shambolic security of internet-of-things consumer devices like routers and webcams, re-organizing responsibility for the cybersecurity of federal agencies, and fostering a new generation of skilled American cybersecurity experts, among other actionable steps.
But as President Obama acknowledged in a statement accompanying those recommendations, actualizing them is largely out of his hands.
These aren't the drone standards you're looking for
Stakeholders in the U.S. sought consensus on drone privacy, but put forth weak standards riddled with loopholes.
Source: accessnow.org
These aren't the drone standards you're looking for
The process of developing drone policy is typically ugly, dirty, and no fun. It often involves trade-offs, with everyone involved trying to get more than they give. Over the last couple months, stakeholders from civil society and business have convened to find consensus on how best to address privacy with regard to drone use, and this process was no exception to the rule.
Apple CEO Tim Cook lashed out at the high-level delegation of Obama administration officials who came calling on tech leaders in San Jose last week, criticizing the White House for a lack of leadership and asking the administration to issue a strong public statement defending the use of unbreakable encryption.
The White House should come out and say “no backdoors,” Cook said. That would mean overruling repeated requests from FBI director James Comey and other administration officials that tech companies build some sort of special access for law enforcement into otherwise unbreakable encryption. Technologists agree that any such measure could be exploited by others.
Source: theintercept.com
The White House wants to hear from you!:
We’ve got big news to share! Do you remember that we asked you to sign a petition asking President Obama to make a statement in support of strong encryption?
More than 100,000 people signed the petition and that got the White House’s attention! They’ve launched a public comment portal to hear from YOU about why YOU support encryption.
We need your help to convince the White House to take a strong position. Please take the time to make your comments to the White House.
Source: accessnow.org
A petition calling for President Obama to support strong encryption and “reject any law, policy or mandate” that would undermine digital security reached 100,000 signatures Tuesday, the level at which the White House has said it will respond.
The petition was organized by privacy activists at Access Now and the Electronic Frontier Foundation and endorsed by more than 50 groups and companies, including tech heavy hitters, such as Google and Microsoft.
Source: Washington Post
House lawmakers this week tacked on two amendments to a key funding bill in an effort to stymie what they see as attempts by the Obama administration to weaken encryption.
One amendment, from Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Ted Poe (R-Texas) would bar the government from forcing a company to alter its security measures in order to surveil users. Critics have termed those practices “backdoor” surveillance.
The other, from Lofgren and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), would withhold funds related to setting cryptographic guidelines unless those suggestions would improve information security.
House challenges Obama on ‘backdoor’ surveillance:
More recently, the Obama administration, and the FBI in particular, has been publicly lobbyingfor some form of guaranteed entry into encrypted data.
“I think that the White House ought to heed this congressional action,” said Gregory Nojeim, senior counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology, a digital rights advocate. “It’s movement against the FBI position that our technologies ought to be made more vulnerable.”
Twitter tells the US govt. what’s at risk #IfThePatriotActExpires.
“What you’re doing, essentially, is you’re playing national security Russian roulette,” one senior administration official said of allowing the powers to lapse. That prospect appears increasingly likely with the measure, the USA Freedom Act, stalled and lawmakers in their home states and districts during a congressional recess.