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COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY - page 5

Ex-NSA Chief: CISA Weak, Should Give Pentagon Info at “Network Speed”

Former National Security Agency head Keith Alexander said Congress should grant the Pentagon the same sort of surveillance powers it is seeking to bestow upon the Department of Homeland Security in the Cyber Information Sharing Act (CISA). On Tuesday, Alexander urged the House and Senate to grant the Defense Department access to information CISA will allow DHS to glean from Americans at “network speed.” “When there’s a military response required from actions, that has to go immediately to the Defense Department,” he told Senate Armed… Keep Reading

Proposals Designed to Blunt CISA Spooking, Opacity Fall

The Senate voted down last-ditch attempts at muting more of the hawkish aspects of the Cyber Information Sharing Act (CISA). The body rejected motions to pass amendments aimed at preserving personal privacy online and a key transparency law. The final effort, in the form of an amendment proposed by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.),would have required the Department of Homeland Security to participate in a cross-agency effort to scrub sensitive information from private sector data received under CISA. It was rejected on Tuesday afternoon in 41-54… Keep Reading

Leahy Warns Of FOIA Nightmare If CISA Amendment Fails

The highest ranking Democratic lawmaker on judicial issues said Monday that the Cyber Information Sharing Act (CISA) would improperly undermine the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said CISA would create unnecessary legal exemptions to FOIA and that the Senate is being asked to vote on them without first conducting proper oversight. “Any amendments to this law should be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has exclusive jurisdiction–not in closed session by the Senate Intelligence Committee,” his… Keep Reading

Congressman Bemoans Danger Posed By Wayward Drones; Actually, They Could Be UFOs, Says Colleague

Rarely do Republican lawmakers decry the federal government’s lack of rule-making, but when it comes to the commercial drone industry, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) broke the mold Wednesday. Rep. Mica criticized the Federal Administration for its failure to finalize rules for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and said the delay will likely lead to a midair collision. “What will probably propel this,” the Congressman said, “is going to be a very serious accident. I can almost predict there will be one.” The remarks came during… Keep Reading

F.A.A. To Let Space Barons Regulate Themselves

Federal Aviation Administration officials told a government watchdog that the agency doesn’t intend to issue safety regulations on the burgeoning commercial space launch industry, and plan to allow rocket ship makers to regulate themselves—despite three noteworthy mishaps in the last year. A moratorium that prevents the FAA from issuing regulations to preserve the safety of crew and spaceflight participants is set to expire at the end of September, and the agency informed the Government Accountability Office that it “has no plans to issues regulations” in… Keep Reading

DOJ, SEC, FTC Try To Wiggle Out Of Impending Warrant Requirements

Representatives from federal civil law enforcement agencies implored US Senators on Wednesday to ditch legislation that would require them to obtain warrants before reading Americans’ emails. The pleading came during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focused on the ECPA Amendments Act—proposed legislation that would update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) by creating privacy protections for emails, texts, and other information stored in the cloud. “The Department remains concerned…about the effect a blanket warrant requirement would have on its civil operations.” Elana Tyrangiel, an… Keep Reading

Report: Ubiquity of Primitive Drones Would Cause FAA Problems

The Federal Aviation Administration is on pace to allow more drones to fly through the nation’s airspace in 2015 than in any other year, but still is struggling to cope with the normalization of the relatively new technology, the Government Accountability Office warned. In a report published on Monday, the GAO lauded the agency, claiming that it “has progressed toward its goal of seamlessly integrating unmanned aerial system (UAS) flights into the national airspace.” The oversight body, however, went on to say that the US,… Keep Reading

Sen. Warren Inquires About New “Going Dark” Problem—On Wall Street

The Senate’s most aggressive financial watchdog on Monday raised concerns from the left about the use of encryption, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) requested a meeting with federal regulators to discuss how a secure communications channel created by Symphony Communication, LLC could help financial elites dodge accountability. In letters on Monday to the Departments of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three other regulatory bodies, Warren asked “whether Symphony may make it easier for financial firms to evade the… Keep Reading

Vote On Cyber Surveillance Measure Delayed Amid Fierce Opposition From Technologists

As security experts and digital rights groups rail against a sweeping cyber information-sharing measure, Congressional leadership has bowed to the pressure and pushed back a vote on the legislation. The bill, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, was originally scheduled to be voted on at the end of July. Senate Majority Whip, John Cornyn (R-Texas), however, announced Tuesday that the bill likely won’t be brought to the floor until the fall, after the month-long August recess. “I think we’re just running out time,” he told reporters,… Keep Reading

Congressional Republicans Lining Up Multiple Backdoor Attacks on Net Neutrality

Senate Republicans voted on Thursday to advance an appropriations proposal that would hobble President Obama’s Net Neutrality regulations. The GOP-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee marked up a financial services spending bill with a policy rider that would stop the Federal Communications Commission from using the rules to dictate what internet service providers can charge customers. It would also only allocate $320 million to the FCC–$20 million less than what the commission received last year from Congress. Although the FCC has said it has no intention of… Keep Reading

“A Shameful Record!” California Dem Laments Scarce Internet Access for Native Americans

The lack of broadband access in to rural areas and tribal lands briefly took center stage on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) described the struggles of Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide. “We’re 24th in the world,” Rep. Eshoo said during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, referring to a United Nations study on high-speed connectivity. “I think that a good part of that number is a representation of Native Americans in reservations in our country,” she added,… Keep Reading

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