| 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: --SENATORS DEMAND CYBER STRATEGY FROM TRUMP: A bipartisan group of senators is pressing President Trump to issue a national strategy for deterring malicious activity in cyberspace "as soon as possible," accusing successive administrations of not giving enough urgency to the issue. "The lack of decisive and clearly articulated consequences to cyberattacks against our country has served as an open invitation to foreign adversaries and malicious cyber actors to continue attacking the United States," the senators wrote in the letter, obtained by The Hill. "The United States has failed to formulate, implement, and declare a comprehensive cyber doctrine with an appropriate sense of urgency," they wrote. "We urge you to end this state of inaction immediately. The letter was spearheaded by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). It is signed by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on cyber, as well as several other senators from both parties. Lawmakers have taken issue with both the Obama and Trump administrations for failing to develop a comprehensive strategy for deterring and responding to malicious behavior in cyberspace. In order to press the executive branch on the issue, Congress inserted language into recent annual defense policy bills directing the president to develop a cyber deterrence strategy. President Trump strongly objected to a provision in the current National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requiring him to develop a national cyber policy, though he ultimately signed the bill. The issue came up most recently at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on worldwide threats that featured extensive discussions between lawmakers and top intelligence officials on cyber threats. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, in response to questions from Rounds at the hearing Tuesday, acknowledged that the government has not developed a comprehensive cyber policy. "I don't think the progress has been made quick enough to put us in a position where we have a firm policy and understanding, not only ourselves, but what our adversaries know relative to how we're going to deal with this," Coats said, noting that it will take a "whole-of-government" effort. To read more from our piece, click here.
--LEWANDOWSKI TALKS TO HOUSE INTEL FOR RUSSIA PROBE: The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday said Corey Lewandowski selectively declined to answer questions about key events and conversations during his second interview before the panel. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called on the majority to issue a subpoena on the former Trump campaign manager, calling it unacceptable for a witness to refuse to answer particular questions that are relevant to their Russia probe. He warned the panel continues to set a "broader precedent" of noncompliance that could hobble future congressional investigations. "Witnesses do not get to pick and choose when it comes to very relevant testimony to our investigation," Schiff told reporters after the meeting ended. He said Lewandowski refused to answer a series of questions about key events, including the initial statement from Donald Trump Jr. about the controversial June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer and the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, as well as any conversations he may have had with the president about the potential firing of special counsel Robert Mueller. "They didn't believe it was relevant and we emphasized it repeatedly that was not their determination to make," Schiff said in part. "And of course, whether the administration knowingly made false statements about meetings with Russians is very relevant to our investigation, whether their actions taken to impede the investigation, obstruct the investigation is also very relevant so it was a meritless objection." Lewandowski, who left the committee's closed spaces after roughly three hours -- a short period compared to his last interview and appearances by other witnesses -- said he answered "every question you can [imagine]." "One thing is unequivocal: no collusion, no cooperation, no coordination," he added. Lewandowski is just the latest in a string of witnesses who have refused to answer certain questions before the Intelligence Committee. The meeting with Lewandowski, which was repeatedly described by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as "tense" or "contentious," was also described as "productive" in obtaining new information. To read more of our piece, click here. --TOP GENERAL SAYS TRUMP LACKS UNIFIED EFFORT TO COMBAT RUSSIAN CYBER THREAT: The head of U.S. European Command said Thursday that the U.S. government does not have an effective unified effort to confront cyber threats from Russia. "I don't believe there's an effective unification across the interagency with the energy and the focus that we could attain," Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti told lawmakers during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Scaparrotti, who is also the supreme allied commander of NATO, had been asked by the committee's top Democrat Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.) how he would assess the country's "whole-of-government response" to confront Russia's cyber threat. The general also said that the Pentagon is trying to map out the scope of Russian cyber activity, but so far does not have a full picture of the activity. "We're getting better understanding of it," he said. "I would not characterize it as a - as a good picture at this point, not satisfactory to me." Reed also asked Scaparrotti whether he has noticed Russia directly targeting the United States with cyber and information warfare. Scaparrotti replied that he had seen Russian activity related to "infrastructure, reconnaissance, et cetera within the United States," but would not offer further details. During the Senate hearing Thursday, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) called out the Trump administration for failing to address Russian cyber threats. "You and your colleagues end up taking a lot of the beating for what is really a failure of political leadership in both the legislative and executive branches and both parties," Sasse told Scaparrotti. "In the current moment with Russian attacks, the current administration has no real response. The legislature is not nearly serious ... enough about this issue." To read more from our piece, click here. A LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: MORE HURDLES FOR ELECTION CYBERSECURITY: Senators are running into roadblocks from state officials as they try to craft legislation to secure election systems before the midterms in November. Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) are pushing for legislation that would bolster the security of U.S. voting infrastructure, with an eye toward countering threats from adversaries like Russia. But Lankford on Wednesday was forced to table an amendment to a bill moving through the Senate that was aimed at improving information-sharing between federal and state election officials on election cyber threats. State officials objected to the amendment. The development sparked frustration on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where lawmakers have been agitating for action. "Texas had elections yesterday," said Harris, referring to the state's Democratic and Republican primaries. "This is an issue that we should approach, I think, with a great sense of urgency and immediacy." What to do about election cybersecurity has been a source of tension between federal and state officials since the revelation that Russia tried to hack into election-related systems as part of its broader influence campaign against the U.S. in 2016. While none of the systems targeted by Russia were involved in vote tallying, officials fear those campaigns could grow in scope and sophistication. The Obama administration in its waning days designated election infrastructure as critical and therefore subject to optional federal protections from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). State and local officials balked at the move, fearing a federal takeover of elections. States have also complained that DHS was slow to share information on the Russia threat. The department formally notified election officials in 21 states that they had been targeted by Russian hackers last September, nearly a year after the 2016 election took place. Lankford's amendment, provided to The Hill by an aide, aimed to improve the flow of information between federal officials and state officials involved in administering elections. The lawmaker hoped to offer the amendment to a bill reauthorizing DHS that is under consideration in the Senate. But four secretaries of state -- who serve as the chief election officials in most states -- wrote to the committee Tuesday expressing concerns over the provision and one later withdrawn by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) that would have codified into law steps DHS has undertaken to secure U.S. voting infrastructure. The letter, signed by officials in Indiana, Louisiana, Georgia and New Mexico, questioned the need for the amendments to be included in the reauthorization bill, according to a copy obtained by The Hill. "With so much scrutiny and ongoing investigations into the Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential election, it would be more prudent to allow the investigation reports to be finalized and sent to the Congress and the President with conclusive evidence of what may have occurred before assuming what a proper solution might be," Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson wrote. The Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the presidential election, is expected to release a bipartisan report on election security later this year. Lankford's amendment in its current form would direct DHS to promptly share election cybersecurity information with state election officials, unless the department secretary "makes a specific determination in writing that there is good cause to withhold the particular information." The state officials suggested the provision could potentially block state officials from receiving timely threat information. The amendment would also mandate that election service providers, including vendors and contractors, notify state officials promptly if election systems -- including voting machines, voter registration databases and election agency email systems -- are breached, and that state officials provide the information to their federal counterparts in a timely fashion. The secretaries of state questioned whether states would be penalized if a vendor or contractor failed to notify state election agencies of cybersecurity incidents. To read more from our piece, click here. | 
