Information technology automation and cloud migration may help reduce agency costs but security standards aren’t uniform and federal cybersecurity guidelines are urgently needed, officials said Tuesday at a cybersecurity conference sponsored by Billington Cybersecurity. Leaders from the departments of Defense and Commerce and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the pending release of Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) guidelines will help propel their agencies’ technological capabilities. But private sector entities said the government needs to take a more active lead on national cybersecurity efforts in the meantime.
The FCC has adequate legal authority to order wireless carriers to change their systems so that subscribers can send text messages to 911 call centers or make other changes as the U.S. moves to a next-generation 911 system, the commission asserted in a notice of proposed rulemaking approved Thursday (CD Sept 23 p6). “Since 1996, the Commission has exercised authority under Title III of the Communications Act to require CMRS providers, as spectrum licensees, to implement basic 911 and E911 services,” the notice stated. “This authority includes -- as a fundamental and pervasive element of the Commission’s licensing authority -- the power and obligation to condition its licensing actions on compliance with requirements that the Commission deems consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity.” The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 also “confers authority” on the FCC “with respect to implementation of text-to-911 and other NG911 features to the extent that such implementation serves the statutory goal of ‘achieving equal access to emergency services for people with disabilities, as a part of the migration to a national Internet protocol-enabled emergency network,'” the notice said. The NPRM noted that “to date” there have been only a small number of SMS-to-911 trials in the U.S. including Black Hawk County, Ia., and Durham, N.C. “Several European countries, including Estonia, Iceland, Luxembourg, Sweden, and the United Kingdom offer emergency SMS services or are planning to offer such services in the near future,” the notice said.
The President has issued a notice continuing for one year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13224 on September 23, 2001, "Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism."
Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said she was shocked to learn that the White House allegedly influenced a witness’s testimony in the LightSquared hearing earlier this month in the House Armed Services Committee. The White House reportedly asked General William Shelton, commander of the U.S. Air Force Space Command, to change testimony to say the Pentagon hoped to finish LightSquared testing within 90 days and to reflect Shelton’s support for the broadband initiatives (CD Sept 16 p1). A report from the Center for Public Integrity detailed emails between LightSquared and the White House seeking to set up meetings around the time large donations were made by LightSquared executives, largely to Democrats. “Sadly, I believe President [Barack] Obama is willing to overlook the risks the LightSquared 4G network could pose to the American people and national security because he would rather grant political favors to two of his supporters involved in this situation,” Rep. Bachmann, R-Minn., said in an open letter to colleagues last week. “Clearly, in his support for LightSquared, the President has put political posturing over national security.” LightSquared disputed ties between the company and Obama. LightSquared investor Phillip Falcone “is a registered Republican and two thirds of his political donations go to Republicans,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Most of the decisions involving LightSquared were made during Republican administrations under Republican FCC Chairmen.” The company “has NO intention of disrupting GPS,” it said. Six lawmakers added their support for a House Oversight Committee investigation into the process that led to an FCC waiver for LightSquared, in a letter to the committee Thursday. House Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Michael Turner, R-Ohio, and five other members of the subcommittee said “it is troubling to see reports of high dollar donors being given unusual consideration in the regulatory process.” House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has said the committee will have a broad investigation about White House influence in controversies over LightSquared and Solyndra, a bankrupt solar energy company that received government loans (CD Sept 21 p16). “We have received reports that numerous witnesses before our committee, and likely therefore other committees, were asked during the administration’s testimony coordination process to include language with which many of them disagreed, and that some ultimately declined to include,” the letter said. “We are concerned that this language shows an administration bias in favor of LightSquared.” The White House has denied having an improper role. The lawmaker letter also includes a Jan. 12 letter to FCC Chairman Genachowski from Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn that voiced concern about potential interference from LightSquared. The letter to Genachowski (CD June 7 p14) was sent two weeks before the FCC International Bureau granted a conditional waiver request that would allow LightSquared to offer terrestrial-only service. The letter isn’t included in the FCC dockets on the LightSquared proceeding. The commission didn’t comment. LightSquared took issue with the lawmakers’ letter and the descriptions of the scope of the waiver the FCC granted. “LightSquared emphatically rejects the letter’s suggestion that it would operate a network that threatens our nation’s security,” the company said. “LightSquared is a U.S. company that has been operating a satellite network and has long standing relationships with local, state and federal emergency responders and defense-related agencies.” The company also challenged the notion that it has garnered undue political help through donations to Democrats. “Neither Harbinger Chief Investment Officer Phil Falcone nor LightSquared Chairman and CEO Sanjiv Ahuja, have given to President Obama’s political campaigns,” said LightSquared. “Falcone is a registered Republican who has given about two-thirds of his donations to Republicans. Ahuja has given $30,400 in checks to both parties -- the only contributions he has made to national political campaigns."
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski asked the reconstituted Communications Security, Reliability & Interoperability Council to make 911 call prioritization a key focus as it starts work. Genachowski was not at Friday’s CSRIC meeting, but sent a letter, which Public Safety Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett read at the start of the session. The FCC is also asking questions about 911 prioritization in a rulemaking approved Thursday (CD Sept 23 p6).
Principles and recommendations on new media, Internet governance, Internet universality, openness and integrity, and domain names were among a flurry of documents approved by the Council of Europe this week. While several dealt with topics that have proven controversial in other forums -- such as government regulation of the domain name space and net neutrality -- they did not spark debate because the “thrust of the documents was discussed in advance and most of the texts had a long process of gestation,” Jan Malinowski, head of the information society, media and data protection division, told us. They will be presented at the Sept. 27-30 Internet Governance Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, the CoE said.
Cloud computing shows potential but there remain security and infrastructure concerns, House members said at a hearing Wednesday of the House Science Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation. Broadband buildout and spectrum will be critical to maintaining U.S. leadership on cloud systems, a Microsoft official said. Later, at a Hill briefing hosted by TechAmerica, Congressional High-Tech Caucus Co-Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., announced a task force to work on policies promoting advancement of cloud technologies.
Cloud computing shows potential but there remain security and infrastructure concerns, House members said at a hearing Wednesday of the House Science Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation. Broadband buildout and spectrum will be critical to maintaining U.S. leadership on cloud systems, a Microsoft official said. Later, at a Hill briefing hosted by TechAmerica, Congressional High-Tech Caucus Co-Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., announced a task force to work on policies promoting advancement of cloud technologies.
At the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America’s Government Affairs Conference on September 19, 2011, representatives from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and NCBFAA’s Customs Committee discussed the “Role of the Broker,” including the possibility of requiring continuing education for all licensed customs brokers and an experience requirement for permit holders. A larger role for brokers in trusted trade programs is also being contemplated, etc.
A fresh House bill to reallocate the 700 MHz D-block to public safety has the support of House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y. Rep. Steve Rothman, D-N.J., who serves on the Appropriations Committees, on Tuesday introduced the Help Emergency Responders Operate Emergency Systems (HEROES) Act. Using proceeds from spectrum auctions, the bill would provide $5.5 billion for construction, maintenance and operation of the national public safety network and $400 million to set up a grant program to help first responders upgrade their radios to comply with the FCC’s 2004 narrowband mandate.