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2018年1月22日 星期一

Overnight Cybersecurity: Twitter notifies those who interacted with Russian accounts | Trump signs surveillance bill | Lawmakers look to crack down on Chinese tech firms

 
 
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Welcome to OVERNIGHT CYBERSECURITY, your daily rundown of the biggest news in the world of hacking and data privacy. We're here to connect the dots as leaders in government, policy and industry try to counter the rise in cyber threats. What lies ahead for Congress, the administration and the latest company under siege? Whether you're a consumer, a techie or a D.C. lifer, we're here to give you ...

 

THE BIG STORIES:

--TWITTER CRACKS DOWN ON RUSSIAN BOT ACCOUNTS: Twitter said Friday that it has suspended 1,062 new accounts it has found to be linked to the Internet Research Agency, a Russian "troll farm" which disseminated content intended to interfere in the U.S. political process. In total, the company has found 3,814 Internet Research Agency-linked accounts, which posted 175,993 tweets during the 2016 presidential campaign. Twitter said it also found 13,512 new Kremlin-linked bot accounts, bringing the total number of bots it has found in connection to Russia's election influence efforts to 50,258.

--THE COMPANY ALSO SAID in a post on Friday that it would notify 677,775 people to let them know that they either liked, retweeted or followed Russian-linked accounts, following a request from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to do so. Twitter noted, however, that it won't show users the content they saw, saying that because it has "already suspended these accounts, the relevant content on Twitter is no longer publicly available." The social media platform did share examples of Russian content from known Internet Research Agency accounts such as @TEN_GOP, which impersonated the Tennessee Republican party, and others. "Cops have killed 68 people in 22 days since #Kaepernick started protesting. 68 in 22 days… have no words #KeithLamontScott," read one example tweet from an Internet Research Agency account with the now suspended handle @Crystal1Johnson.

--AMONG THOSE TARGETED was Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, who posted an email he received from Twitter on Saturday indicating that he interacted with content from Russian-linked Twitter accounts that attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election. "As part of our recent work to understand Russian-linked activities on Twitter during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we identified and suspended a number of accounts that were potentially connected to a propaganda effort by a Russian government-linked organization known as the Internet Research Agency," read the email. "Consistent with our commitment to transparency, we are emailing you because we have reason to believe that you either followed one of these accounts or retweeted or liked content from these accounts during the election period," the email continued. "This is purely for your own information purposes, and is not related to a security concern for your account."

To read the rest of our coverage, click here and here.

 

A LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: 

TRUMP SIGNS FOREIGN SURVEILLANCE POWER RENEWAL: President Trump on Friday signed a six-year renewal of a powerful government surveillance tool, amid an uproar on Capitol Hill over what Republicans allege is serious abuse of the underlying law.

"Just signed 702 Bill to reauthorize foreign intelligence collection," Trump tweeted. "This is NOT the same FISA law that was so wrongly abused during the election. I will always do the right thing for our country and put the safety of the American people first!"

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which the Senate voted to renew with a few small tweaks this week, allows the U.S. to spy on foreigners overseas. The intelligence community says the program is a critical tool in identifying and disrupting terror plots.

But the broader surveillance law, which governs U.S. spying on foreigners, has become politically entangled with the controversy over the federal investigation into Trump's campaign and Russia.

Some Republicans have claimed the FBI inappropriately obtained a politically motivated FISA warrant to spy on Trump during the transition and on Friday, Capitol Hill was consumed with speculation about a four-page memo produced by House Intelligence Committee Republicans that some GOP lawmakers hinted contained evidence of such wrongdoing.

Conservatives have called for the classified memo to be released publicly and some privacy advocates briefly tried to use the furor to urge Trump not to sign the bill.

"The Intelligence Committee memo about government surveillance abuses should have been made public and given to members of Congress before the FISA Section 702 vote," the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted. "Trump must veto the bill so there can be a real debate on these powers."

Trump himself had previously muddied the waters on the legislation. The morning that the House was scheduled to vote on the measure -- which his administration supported -- he tweeted: "This is the act that may have been used, with the help of the discredited and phony Dossier, to so badly surveil and abuse the Trump Campaign by the previous administration and others?"

Later, he clarified that he "has personally directed the fix to the unmasking process since taking office and today's vote is about foreign surveillance of foreign bad guys on foreign land."

To read the rest of our piece, click here.

 

A LIGHTER CLICK: 

Amazon has opened a store without cashiers. (ABC)

 

A REPORT IN FOCUS: 

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHTS MAJOR WEBSITE HACKING CAMPAIGNS: A Pakistani hacking campaign has defaced roughly 15,000 websites since it first gained traction in 2011, making it the leading so-called hacktivist campaign in recent years, according to new research.

Cybersecurity firm Trend Micro issued a report Monday based on analysis of more than 13 million web defacement reports over nearly two decades.

Activists have increasingly turned to the cyber realm to promote their agendas and political ideologies, compromising and defacing websites in order to send a message and gain traction with would-be supporters.

For instance, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria sympathizers defaced several Ohio government websites last June, forcing the state to take affected servers offline.

Trend Micro catalogued more than 100,000 unique defacers and nearly 10 million domains that were compromised over the last 18 years, identifying the top seven hacktivist campaigns and their origins in real-world conflicts.

According to the research, a Pakistani hacking campaign called "Free Kashmir" logged the highest number of web defacements despite having significantly fewer perpetrators than other high-profile campaigns.

"Free Kashmir" was launched in 2011 by a pair of Pakistani hacking groups to sound alarm over human rights abuses committed by India's armed forces against residents in the disputed territory of Kashmir.

The hacking campaign #OpIsrael, triggered by the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, has attracted 500 attackers, according to the research, making it the most successful in netting supporters.

A hacking campaign called #OpFrance is also among the top campaigns. It was triggered by the attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo's Paris headquarters in 2015 and largely consisted of hackers from Muslim-majority nations targeting French websites, apparently in support of the attack.

To read the rest of our piece, click here.

 

WHAT'S IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

CHINESE TELECOM FIRMS: The federal government is taking steps to reduce the presence of some Chinese technology firms in American markets.

Earlier this month, AT&T scrapped a deal with Chinese phone maker Huawei, reportedly as a result of pressure from anonymous U.S. lawmakers who cited national security concerns. Reuters reported this week that lawmakers are now pressing AT&T to sever all of its commercial ties with Huawei.

And the White House blocked two acquisitions of American companies by Chinese firms in recent months, also citing "national security concerns."

Lawmakers reportedly are pushing to keep Chinese telecommunications firm China Mobile out of the U.S. for similar reasons.

The efforts come on the heels of a federal ban on anti-virus software produced by Russia's Kaspersky Lab, and underscore heightened concerns in Washington about privacy and spying threats.

On Friday, Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) told The Hill he would discourage American companies such as AT&T from making deals with Chinese tech firms like Huawei.

"We don't want undisclosed back doors into our systems," Conaway explained.

"The relationship those companies have with different Chinese intelligence agencies themselves and their government -- it's opaque. We don't know what is or isn't there," he continued.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we don't want to make ourselves vulnerable to backdoor entrances to our systems."

Earlier this month, Conaway introduced legislation that would bar the federal government from contracting with firms that use equipment produced by Huawei or its smaller Chinese competitor, ZTE. As of Friday, the bill had attracted 11 co-sponsors, including one Democrat.

National security experts worry that, despite the companies being private entities, data stored on devices produced by Chinese providers could potentially end up in the hands of the Chinese government.

The concerns about the firms are not new. A 2012 House Intelligence Committee report identified both companies as a national security threat, encouraging private companies to consider the "long-term security risks" of doing business with either Huawei or ZTE.

Tai Ming Cheung, director of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the University of California, San Diego, who researches East Asian national security affairs, says officials' renewed interest in corporate threats is a result of China's rising economic profile.

"The increased scrutiny of China is from an integration of national security and economic security," Cheung said. "To the U.S. before, China was a military threat. Now its threat has broadened to the economic side of things as well."

Still, efforts to restrict Chinese access to the U.S. market broadly could create trouble for the tech sector, which is increasingly doing business in that country.

To read the rest of our piece, click here.

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

'Links from our blog, The Hill, and around the Web.

Senate approves funding measure to end shutdown, House to follow (The Hill)

Twitter account of ex-sheriff David Clarke apparently hacked. (The Hill)

Facebook admits it can have a harmful effect on democracy. (The Hill)

Republicans demand new special counsel over lost FBI text messages. (The Hill)

OP-ED: Here's what you can do to stop big tech from manipulating you online. (The Hill)

OP-ED: North Korea turning to cryptos to counter economic sanctions. (The Hill)

Hackers leverage 'Fire and Fury' in effort to spread malware. (The Daily Beast)

Google awards a record-high bug bounty of over $100,000. (CyberScoop)

The latest on the scrutiny surrounding Kaspersky Lab. (BuzzFeed)

Marine Corps looks to make cyber like special operations. (Military.com)

Cyber will figure high at the World Economic Forum in Davos. (New York Times)

Uber is reportedly ignoring a two-factor authentication vulnerability. (ZDNet)

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SearchCap: Google Search Console beta live, PPC tips & SEO tasks

 
 
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New Google Search Console may be rolling out for everyone now

 

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Sergei Eisenstein Google doodle honors Soviet film director known as the 'Father of Montage'
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Let 2018 be the year you get proactive about online reputation management. Columnist Chris Silver Smith shares 10 tips to help you reduce the risks to your organization.


 
 

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Overnight Regulation: Trump orders tariffs on solar panel imports | Supreme Court rules against Trump on clean water rule | Montana implements net neutrality rules

 
 
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Welcome to Overnight Regulation, your daily rundown of news from the federal agencies, Capitol Hill, the courts and beyond. It's Monday evening and the government is ready to reopen after a three-day shutdown. Democrats agreed to help advance a short-term spending deal Monday after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promised to let an immigration bill reach the floor next month.

House members are now leaving for a scheduled recess, while the Senate is sticking around for the week.

 

THE BIG STORY: President Trump on Monday imposed tariffs of 30 percent on imported solar panel technology in a bid to protect domestic manufacturers while signaling a more aggressive approach toward China.

The tariffs apply to all imported solar photovoltaic cells and modules, the main technology on panels that convert solar energy into electricity.

While it is targeted at imports from China, Trump's tariffs apply to all imports, since Chinese manufacturers have moved operations to other countries.

"The president's action makes clear again that the Trump administration will always defend American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses in this regard," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement Monday announcing the decision along with a decision to impose tariffs on imported washers.

The move is the first major tariff decision Trump has made unilaterally in office. Through his presidential campaign and his first year in office, Trump repeatedly promised to aggressively go after China and other nations that he feels conduct unfair trade practices and hurt domestic industries.

The tariff falls to 25 percent after a year, and then 20 percent and 15 percent each year after, before phasing out entirely. The first 2.5 gigawatts of imports each year are exempt.

Timothy Cama has more on the decision here.

 

ON TAP FOR TUESDAY

A Senate Commerce subcommittee holds a hearing on "Surface Transportation Security: Addressing Current and Emerging Threats." Lawmakers will hear from the head of the Transportation Security Administration.

The CATO Institute holds a discussion on "Opportunities for Reform in 2018: The Domestic Agenda."

The Senate Health Committee holds a hearing on 21st century public health threats.

The Heritage Foundation holds an event on President Trump's antitrust policy.

The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee holds an oversight hearing on the performance of the electric grid during recent extreme weather events.

The Senate Banking Committee holds a hearing for three financial regulatory nominees, including Jelena McWilliams for chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Marvin Goodfriend for governor of the Federal Reserve board; and Thomas Workman for the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

 

REG ROUNDUP

Environment: In a hit to the Trump administration, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that cases litigating the Clean Water Act should be heard by federal district courts.

The administration had argued those cases should be heard in federal appeals courts.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case over an Obama-era regulation, known as the Waters of the United States rule, back in January 2017, after debate on whether the U.S. Court of Appeals or federal district courts had the authority to hear lawsuits from industry groups and states challenging the rule.

Dozens of parties had filed lawsuits over the regulation in both federal appeals courts and district courts.

Protection Agency's (EPA) permitting authority. 

Miranda Green has the story here.

 

Marijuana: Vermont will become the latest state to allow the possession of marijuana for recreational purposes under a new measure signed into law Monday by Gov. Phil Scott (R).

The measure brings the number of states where recreational marijuana is legal to seven. But the Vermont bill is notable because it is the first time a state legislature has voted to legalize the drug.

The other six states where adults may legally possess and consume marijuana -- Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Nevada and California -- all arrived at legalization through voter-approved ballot measures.

Massachusetts and Maine will legalize marijuana later this year after voters passed ballot initiatives in 2016. The Vermont law takes effect on July 1.

Read Reid Wilson's coverage here.

 

Tech: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) signed an executive order on Monday requiring internet service providers with state contracts to abide by net neutrality principles.

The order makes his state the first to push back on the Federal Communications Commission's decision to repeal the open internet rules last month.

"There has been a lot of talk around the country about how to respond to the recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission to repeal net neutrality rules, which keep the internet free and open. It's time to actually do something about it," Bullock said in a statement.

"This is a simple step states can take to preserve and protect net neutrality. We can't wait for folks in Washington DC to come to their senses and reinstate these rules."

The order says that to receive a contract with the state government, internet service providers must not engage in blocking or throttling web content or create internet fast lanes. Those practices were all banned under the Obama-era 2015 net neutrality order.

Harper Neidig has more here.

 

Energy: President Trump made it clear to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke that he was upset by the decision to exempt Florida from expanded offshore drilling, Axios reported Sunday.

Zinke did not coordinate with anyone, including the White House, before making his decision, and the move has likely hurt Zinke's image within the administration, Axios reported.

However, sources told the news outlet the issue has not ruined Zinke's relationship with Trump.

Zinke said earlier this month that he won't allow offshore drilling in waters near Florida through 2024.

The decision came after Zinke met with Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) in Tallahassee earlier in the day to discuss the governor's objections. It was a day after Zinke proposed opening nearly all of the nation's coasts to drilling.

Since then, numerous other lawmakers from coastal states -- including New Hampshire, Washington, New York and California -- have asked for a similar exemption.

Brett Samuels has the story here.

 

Tech: The federal government is taking steps to reduce the presence of some Chinese technology firms in American markets.

Earlier this month, AT&T scrapped a deal with Chinese phone maker Huawei, reportedly as a result of pressure from anonymous U.S. lawmakers who cited national security concerns. Reuters reported this week that lawmakers are now pressing AT&T to sever all of its commercial ties with Huawei.

And the White House blocked two acquisitions of American companies by Chinese firms in recent months, also citing "national security concerns."

Lawmakers reportedly are pushing to keep Chinese telecommunications firm China Mobile out of the U.S. for similar reasons.

The efforts come on the heels of a federal ban on anti-virus software produced by Russia's Kaspersky Lab, and underscore heightened concerns in Washington about privacy and spying threats.

 Ali Breland and Morgan Chalfant have the info here.

 

Health care: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is looking to stabilize the state's ObamaCare marketplace after Republicans failed to repeal and replace the law last year.

"Their failure to act on this issue is yet another call for us to step up and lead," Walker told the Wisconsin State Journal.

"I wanted to get premiums for that individual market more compatible with where the group insurance premiums are."

Walker said he will seek federal permission to set up a reinsurance program, which provides payments to plans that cover higher-cost enrollees in an effort to lower premiums for everyone else.

Jessie Hellmann has the story.

 

Security: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Monday issued harsher screening rules for cargo traveling to the United States from five Middle Eastern countries due to terrorism concerns.

The agency will apply stricter screening rules for six airline carriers moving cargo to the U.S. from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

"These countries were chosen because of a demonstrated intent by terrorist groups to attack aviation from them," the agency said.

 Mallory Shelbourne reports.

 

Environment: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke approved a land-transfer deal Monday to allow Alaska to build a road through a federal wildlife refuge in the southwestern part of the state.

The action closes a major chapter in a fight that has stretched more than three decades and became a top priority for Alaska, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), who is chairwoman of the committees overseeing both Interior Department policies and its budget.

The gravel, one-lane road would cut through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, connecting the remote community of King Cove to Cold Bay. Locals and Alaska leaders say it's necessary to link King Cove to a large, all-weather airport, mostly for medical evacuations in poor weather.

But conservationists have long fought the road. They say that the road would not be restricted to medical emergency use and would be destructive to the refuge.

Timothy Cama has the story here.

 

Tech: The massive firestorms that swept through California wine country last October have state legislators and disaster preparedness officials considering a major overhaul to emergency alert measures that could deliver more timely warnings to residents in harm's way.

The fires, which claimed 44 lives and destroyed thousands of structures in four Northern California counties, laid bare the new reality of emergency preparedness in the digital age: Alert systems built during the 20th century have not kept up with 21st century technology.

"The disparity in alert and warning over the years has become really fractured. In the old days, you could use radio and television and you could get most of the people," said Kelly Huston, the deputy director of California's Office of Emergency Services. "Alert and warnings have become a lot more complex."

Read more from Reid Wilson here.

 

Finance: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday charged six accountants who allegedly shared and misused confidential information about planned audits of KPMG.

The SEC alleges that three former employees of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which audits accounting companies, tipped off KPMG on upcoming inspections between 2015 and February 2017.

Two of the three former PCAOB employees allegedly gave KPMG confidential information about planned audits as they sought employment at the major accounting firm. The third PCAOB official fed information to his former colleagues after they had joined KPMG, according to the commission.

Sylvan Lane has the details.

 

Environment: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to whether the government can designate private land used for timber operations in Louisiana as critical habitat for the endangered dusky gopher frog found in Mississippi.

The case stems from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decision to designate 1,544 acres in Louisiana as a critical habitat for the frog that lives underground in open-canopied pine forests.

Though the dusky gopher frog hasn't occupied the land in decades, the government said it's considered a historic breeding site.

Weyerhaeuser Company, which planned to use the land for residential and commercial development, as well as timber operations, challenged the designation.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with FWS in upholding the classification despite the landowners' argument that it will prohibit them from future development and result in lost property value.

Lydia Wheeler has the story.

 

IN OTHER NEWS

Ex-EPA chief: Agency will need '20 to 30' years to recover from Pruitt (The Hill)

Judge dismisses case against alleged ETF theft (The Wall Street Journal)

Reports on South Korea's cryptocurrency plans keep rolling out, but many remain upbeat (CNBC)

 
 
 
 
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