The FCC Enforcement Bureau proposed a penalty of $18,000 against an amateur radio operator in Lake Charles, Louisiana, for allegedly interfering with other operators in violation of the Communications Act. “The Commission has received numerous complaints alleging that he was causing interference to a local amateur repeater … preventing other amateur licensees from using the repeater,” the bureau said. In June 2017, the FCC received a complaint that Jerry Materne interfered with an attempted emergency net in response to the imminent landfall of Tropical Storm Cindy, the bureau said: “Materne repeatedly transmitted on the repeater’s input frequency, hindering the local Emergency Net’s ability to coordinate weather Warnings and Alerts on behalf of the National Weather Service.” Materne couldn’t be reached for comment.
A May report from the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security suggests federal chief information officers are “not empowered” to oversee cybersecurity risk management, Venable Cybersecurity Risk Management Group Managing Director-Cybersecurity Services Ari Schwartz told House Homeland Security Committee lawmakers Wednesday. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee Chairman John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, noted the report shows 74 percent of federal agencies “have cybersecurity programs that are either at risk or high risk.” There's "an evident lack of strategy in mitigating risk across federal agencies,” he said during a subcommittee hearing. Symantec Global Government Affairs Senior Strategist Ken Durbin described the report as “a clear-eyed and unbiased look at the current state of our cybersecurity preparedness.” Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute CERT Technical Director-Cybersecurity Risk and Resilience Summer Fowler recommended the U.S. “advance our cybersecurity risk management practices with a focus on operational resilience,” based on the report. Lawmakers discussed emergency response technology in a separate hearing before the Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications Subcommittee. Chairman Dan Donovan, R-N.Y., said “American ingenuity should be nurtured” to ensure communities are ready for the next threat. National Institute of Standards and Technology Public Safety Communications Division Chief Dereck Orr listed emerging technologies the federal government is developing for emergency response, including: deployable drones with autonomous flight controls; various LTE broadband device capabilities; location-based services for assets and personnel; and public safety analytics tools that will allow public use of large amounts of data. Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator-Resilience Daniel Kaniewski discussed how FEMA “leveraged crowdsourcing data from digital volunteer networks to enhance situational awareness during the 2017 disasters.” DHS Science and Technology Directorate Director-First Responders Group Daniel Cotter said his office is “adding value at the intersection” of Smart Cities and the IoT. That includes development of unmanned aerial systems, detection sensors and SmartHubs for responder-focused mobile communication, he said.
A May report from the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Homeland Security suggests federal chief information officers are “not empowered” to oversee cybersecurity risk management, Venable Cybersecurity Risk Management Group Managing Director-Cybersecurity Services Ari Schwartz told House Homeland Security Committee lawmakers Wednesday. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee Chairman John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, noted the report shows 74 percent of federal agencies “have cybersecurity programs that are either at risk or high risk.” There's "an evident lack of strategy in mitigating risk across federal agencies,” he said during a subcommittee hearing. Symantec Global Government Affairs Senior Strategist Ken Durbin described the report as “a clear-eyed and unbiased look at the current state of our cybersecurity preparedness.” Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute CERT Technical Director-Cybersecurity Risk and Resilience Summer Fowler recommended the U.S. “advance our cybersecurity risk management practices with a focus on operational resilience,” based on the report. Lawmakers discussed emergency response technology in a separate hearing before the Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications Subcommittee. Chairman Dan Donovan, R-N.Y., said “American ingenuity should be nurtured” to ensure communities are ready for the next threat. National Institute of Standards and Technology Public Safety Communications Division Chief Dereck Orr listed emerging technologies the federal government is developing for emergency response, including: deployable drones with autonomous flight controls; various LTE broadband device capabilities; location-based services for assets and personnel; and public safety analytics tools that will allow public use of large amounts of data. Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator-Resilience Daniel Kaniewski discussed how FEMA “leveraged crowdsourcing data from digital volunteer networks to enhance situational awareness during the 2017 disasters.” DHS Science and Technology Directorate Director-First Responders Group Daniel Cotter said his office is “adding value at the intersection” of Smart Cities and the IoT. That includes development of unmanned aerial systems, detection sensors and SmartHubs for responder-focused mobile communication, he said.
Key Republicans backed and Democrats attacked deregulatory FCC policies under Chairman Ajit Pai at a House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing Wednesday. GOP leaders lauded commission actions to improve emergency communications, update media regulations and promote broadband deployment. Democrats blasted the agency's net neutrality rollback and other deregulatory moves as favoring big industry players and even complicating national security. Pai and other commissioners had provided prepared testimony (see 1807240056).
Key Republicans backed and Democrats attacked deregulatory FCC policies under Chairman Ajit Pai at a House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing Wednesday. GOP leaders lauded commission actions to improve emergency communications, update media regulations and promote broadband deployment. Democrats blasted the agency's net neutrality rollback and other deregulatory moves as favoring big industry players and even complicating national security. Pai and other commissioners had provided prepared testimony (see 1807240056).
Imports of all fish products from Mexican fisheries that use gillnets close to a nearly extinct species of porpoise will be banned while a legal proceeding on the ban proceeds, Court of International Trade Judge Gary Katzmann said in a July 26 ruling. The ruling granted a preliminary injunction meant to prevent further threats to vaquita porpoises, of which fewer than 30 remain, "pending final adjudication of the merits," it said. While legal arguments remain undecided, "what cannot be disputed is that the vaquita’s plight is desperate, and that even one more bycatch death in the gillnets of fisheries in its range threatens the very existence of the species," CIT said.
House Homeland Security Committee subcommittees plan two separate hearings Wednesday on federal cybersecurity risk determination and efforts to bolster emergency response technology. The National Institute of Standards and Technology will testify at the latter hearing, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. in 210 House Capitol Visitor Center. Scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in the same room, the first hearing will explore the federal government’s cybersecurity risk profile.
House Homeland Security Committee subcommittees plan two separate hearings Wednesday on federal cybersecurity risk determination and efforts to bolster emergency response technology. The National Institute of Standards and Technology will testify at the latter hearing, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. in 210 House Capitol Visitor Center. Scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in the same room, the first hearing will explore the federal government’s cybersecurity risk profile.
The FCC defended its 2017 order limiting enhanced tribal Lifeline support against procedural and substantive legal challenges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. There was "ample notice and opportunity for comment" on proposed facilities-based and rural requirements, and fulfillment of a "voluntary commitment to consult with Tribal governments," said an FCC/DOJ response in National Lifeline Association, et al., v. FCC, No. 18-1026, consolidated (see 1801290020 and 1804190011). The "decision to limit the enhanced Tribal subsidy to facilities-based providers was reasonable, and consistent with its long-standing goals of promoting infrastructure development," and managing fund expenditures," it said. The restriction should also be viewed "against a background of significant waste, fraud, and abuse in the program, some of which has been driven by resellers," it said. The Wireline Bureau issued an erratum in docket 11-42 Friday on tribal consultation details in its decision denying legal challengers an administrative stay (see 1807060011). NTCA Monday again petitioned for temporary waiver to give RLECs some relief from a minimum data speed standard for wireline Lifeline broadband providers, in light of the agency's recent updated standard (see 1807180038). TracFone cited challenges it faced "with the soft launch" of a Lifeline national verifier in some states (see 1806180054). It also backed a Q Link emergency petition seeking implementation of a national verifier application programming interface "to avoid wasteful and time consuming duplicative manual entry of a Lifeline applicant’s personal information" and ensure other "seamless communications," said a filing in docket 17-287 on TracFone discussions with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Brendan Carr.
The FCC defended its 2017 order limiting enhanced tribal Lifeline support against procedural and substantive legal challenges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. There was "ample notice and opportunity for comment" on proposed facilities-based and rural requirements, and fulfillment of a "voluntary commitment to consult with Tribal governments," said an FCC/DOJ response in National Lifeline Association, et al., v. FCC, No. 18-1026, consolidated (see 1801290020 and 1804190011). The "decision to limit the enhanced Tribal subsidy to facilities-based providers was reasonable, and consistent with its long-standing goals of promoting infrastructure development," and managing fund expenditures," it said. The restriction should also be viewed "against a background of significant waste, fraud, and abuse in the program, some of which has been driven by resellers," it said. The Wireline Bureau issued an erratum in docket 11-42 Friday on tribal consultation details in its decision denying legal challengers an administrative stay (see 1807060011). NTCA Monday again petitioned for temporary waiver to give RLECs some relief from a minimum data speed standard for wireline Lifeline broadband providers, in light of the agency's recent updated standard (see 1807180038). TracFone cited challenges it faced "with the soft launch" of a Lifeline national verifier in some states (see 1806180054). It also backed a Q Link emergency petition seeking implementation of a national verifier application programming interface "to avoid wasteful and time consuming duplicative manual entry of a Lifeline applicant’s personal information" and ensure other "seamless communications," said a filing in docket 17-287 on TracFone discussions with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Brendan Carr.