Breaking News: Trump authorizes military strikes in Syria

View in your browser     Trump authorizes military strikes in Syria President Trump announced Friday he has ordered “precision strikes” against Syria in response to an apparent chemical weapons attack by the forces of Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Speaking at the White House, Trump said the operation was launched in coordination with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom. The strikes are targeting sites related to Syria’s chemical weapons program. The announcements caps off days of threats by Trump to take military action in response for the chemical attack, which killed at least 40 people in a suburb of Damascus. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Breaking News     Forward Breaking News     You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Energy: Watchdog to issue report on special EPA hiring powers | Exxon loses climate case in Massachusetts court | Park service backlog under scrutiny

View in your browser     IG TO ISSUE REPORT ON SPECIAL HIRING BY EPA: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) internal watchdog intends to release a report soon on the use of a special hiring authority that plays a central role in a controversy involving Administrator Scott Pruitt. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) said it will release a interim "management alert" Monday on its ongoing audit of the EPA's hiring of "administratively designated" positions. Agency officials used that authority in March to give big raises to two close aides to Pruitt, Sarah Greenwalt and Millan Hupp, after the White House refused to allow the raises. Pruitt denied knowing about the raises and ordered them undone, he told Fox News. His chief of staff, Ryan Jackson, later took responsibility for the increases. The Atlantic later reported that Pruitt ordered the raises, and Kevin Chmielewski, a former top staffer for Pruitt, told congressional Democrats this week that Pruitt knew about them. Congress gave the EPA the special authority to hire up to 30 employees in "administratively determined" jobs in the 1970s. Employees under the provision are not restrained by civil service or political appointee rules, so they don't have to sign an ethics pledge and the White House doesn't have to approve their raises, unlike normal political appointees. The inspector general began examining the EPA's use of the hiring authority in January.   The controversial raises: Greenwalt and Hupp got their raises in March, only a few weeks ago and long after the OIG started its investigation. While it's possible that the OIG will get into what happened in that case, Monday's report could also be more generally about how the Trump administration is using the SDWA provision. The EPA last year used it to hire Nancy Beck to a leading role in the chemical safety office. She previously worked at the American Chemistry Council, but did not have to sign Trump's ethics pledge that would have put stronger restrictions on her ability to work on certain chemical industry matters.     EXXON LOSES LATEST CLIMATE CASE: The highest court in Massachusetts ruled against Exxon Mobil in a court case on Friday. The court rejected the company's bid to block the state's attorney general from obtaining records to investigate whether the oil and gas giant knew about the role fossil fuels played in climate change. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Friday morning that the state attorney general had jurisdiction to investigate the climate-related offenses by Exxon, which included probing whether the company violated the state's consumer protection law when it marketed or sold its products. Previously Exxon had sued to stop the probe and lost, leading to an appeal. The court ruled Friday the original decision had been accurate. "We conclude that there is personal jurisdiction over Exxon with respect to the Attorney General's investigation, and that the judge did not abuse her discretion in denying Exxon's requests to set aside the C.I.D., disqualify the Attorney General, and issue a stay. We affirm the judge's order in its entirety," the court wrote in its ruling. Read more here.   What's next: The Massachusetts AG said she was hopeful that Exxon would now comply with requests for records searches in order to continue the investigation. Exxon still has the option to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if it so chooses.   MOST READ STORIES THIS WEEK: Park fee increases are less than anticipated: The National Park Service said Thursday it will increase most entrance fees at parks that currently charge them by $5, much less than the increase of as much as $45 that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposed in October. Internal EPA email shows that Pruitt knew about raises given to staffers following White House disapproval: The Atlantic reported on Monday that Sarah Greenwalt, senior counsel to Pruitt, "definitively stated" to human resources that "Pruitt approves and was supportive of her getting a raise." Democrats are launching a concerted push to oust Pruitt: The senators plan to introduce in the coming days a "sense of the Senate" resolution calling for Pruitt to be removed. GOP head of the House Oversight committee said EPA didn't provide enough records on Pruitt's first class travel: Trey Gowdy wrote to Pruitt asking for the remaining documents about whether Pruitt received waivers to fly first class on the taxpayers' dime. Pruitt wanted to change EPA memorabilia to include his name and preferred symbols: Administrator Scott Pruitt reportedly pushed last year for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to redesign its official memorabilia in ways emphasizing his name, and in some cases removing the agency's logo.   ON TAP NEXT WEEK: Park backlog: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the maintenance backlog and operational needs of the National Park Service (NPS). NPS has a backlog of about $11.5 billion, and lawmakers and administration officials have been looking at fixes for it. The Trump administration wants to use excess money from expanded production of oil, natural gas and other energy on federal land and offshore, but many Democrats said the numbers don't add up. Senators will hear from Lena McDowall, the NPS's deputy director for management and administration. Other witnesses will be representing stakeholders like the National Park Foundation, the Property Environmental Research Council and the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks.   Natural Resources markup: The House Natural Resources Committee will meet Wednesday to mark up seven bills in its jurisdiction, regarding outdoor recreation, heritage areas, migratory birds and more.   FERC budget: The House Energy and Commerce Committee's energy subpanel will bring in all five members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Tuesday for a hearing on its budget request for fiscal year 2019.   OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY: New Jersey lawmakers approved a bill to restart a wind energy project off the coast of Atlantic City, the Press of Atlantic City reports. The wolf population in Oregon has grown 11 percent over the last year, the Statesman Journal reports. Opponents of an Alaska ballot initiative to boost salmon protections has raised $2 million, Alaska's Energy Desk reports.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Friday's stories ... -Watchdog to issue report on hiring method EPA used to give raises -Perry heads to India to promote natural gas exports -New Zealand bans offshore drilling to combat climate change -Top Massachusetts court rules against Exxon in climate case -Employees say Pruitt's head of security encouraged his spending: report     Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com; and Devin Henry, dhenry@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @dhenry, @thehill         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Energy Newsletters     Forward Energy Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Cybersecurity: Lawmakers press FBI chief on encryption | Cyber world flocks to RSA conference | Defense contractors face mounting cyber threats

View in your browser       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: --LAWMAKERS PRESS FBI CHIEF ON ENCRYPTION: A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing FBI Director Christopher Wray on the bureau's efforts to unlock encrypted devices, in the wake of a critical watchdog report. In a letter sent Friday, the lawmakers called into question recent statements made by Wray and others that the bureau is unable to access scores of devices for ongoing criminal investigations because of encryption -- often referred to as the "going dark" problem.  According to a report released last month, the Justice Department inspector general found that the FBI did not exhaust all avenues to unlock the iPhone of one of the suspects in the 2015 San Bernardino attack before seeking a court order to force Apple to unlock the device. One FBI official also voiced concerns that agents weren't exhausting all technical avenues to unlock the device because they wanted the suit against Apple to go forward. In the Friday letter, several House lawmakers labeled the inspector general report "troubling," arguing that it undermines statements made by FBI officials that only device makers could provide a solution to unlock encrypted devices. The lawmakers also cited news reports that private companies like Cellebrite and Greyshift have developed capabilities to unlock encrypted phones.  Taken together, they argued, the revelations cast doubt on Wray's recent assertion that the FBI was unable to access 7,800 devices last fiscal year despite having relevant court orders.   Key quote: "According to your testimony and public statements, the FBI encountered 7,800 devices last year that it could not access due to encryption," the lawmakers wrote. "However, in light of the availability of unlocking tools developed by third-parties and the OIG report's findings that the Bureau was uninterested in seeking available third-party options, these statistics appear highly questionable."     What lawmakers want: The lawmakers are asking Wray to respond to several questions, including whether he has consulted with third-party vendors to understand tools that could be used to break encryption, and whether the bureau has attempted to use tools developed by third parties to access the 7,800 devices. To read more from our piece, click here.   --POMPEO FACES TIGHT VOTE: CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday faced a grilling from Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, suggesting he faces uncertain prospects to win a panel vote to become the nation's top diplomat. Pompeo declined to answer repeated questions from Democrats related to the ongoing Russia investigations and was challenged at several points to break with President Trump, as lawmakers voiced concerns that he would be too deferential as secretary of State. Pompeo's performance seemed widely to please Republicans on the panel, but with the defection of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) home receiving treatment for cancer, he will need support from Democrats to win confirmation. Getting a majority vote from the panel -- the first hurdle for the former Kansas congressman -- could prove difficult. Paul, who vowed to oppose Pompeo's nomination over his support for the Iraq War and his past position on torture, sits on the committee.   Can Pompeo get any Dems? If the committee's 10 Democrats join him in voting against Pompeo, it would be an 11-10 vote against his confirmation. No Democrats on the panel have so far offered their support. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) has already announced that he will oppose the nomination and at least two other Democratic committee members who supported his confirmation as CIA director -- Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) and Tim Kaine (Va.) -- have expressed concerns. To read more from our piece, click here.     AN EVENT IN FOCUS:  Next week, cybersecurity professionals will descend on San Francisco for the annual RSA Conference. Among the speakers will be Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who is expected to discuss the department's cybersecurity priorities as well as current threats facing the United States in a keynote address Tuesday afternoon. The highly anticipated information security conference takes place April 16 to 20.   A LIGHTER CLICK:  What does pet-cloning mean for human-cloning? And no, this isn't about Barbra Streisand. (Technology Review)   WHO'S IN THE SPOTLIGHT:  DEFENSE CONTRACTORS: Cybersecurity experts say defense contractors are facing more aggressive attacks as nation states and other hacking groups increasingly use malicious software to block information or manipulate data. The companies that provide U.S. military and intelligence agencies with products and services have long faced espionage-motivated attacks. They are now, however, also confronting outside attacks that aim to thwart, or even sabotage, their operations. "To put it bluntly, these are attacks that don't try to steal secrets -- but either try to block information or change information," Peter Singer, a fellow at New America, told The Hill in an interview. The rise of ransomware attacks against defense contractors coincides with a rise in the use of ransomware in general. Attacks can spread even after the original target has been hit, hurting unintended victims. "It is the fastest growing area of cyber crime," Singer said. One recent victim is Boeing, which was hit by the WannaCry virus late last month. The U.S. and U.K. have blamed North Korea for the attack, which only took a week to rapidly infect hundreds of thousands of Windows devices in 150 countries last spring. Varun Badhwar, the head of cybersecurity firm RedLock, said hackers actively search for doors that are already cracked open as they seek to infiltrate such systems. "[P]eople are looking for low-hanging fruit in terms of misconfigured systems as was in Boeing's case," Badhwar told The Hill, adding that the incident could've been easily avoided. "The Microsoft patch was available for close to a year now," he said. Linda Mills, the vice president of Boeing's commercial airlines communications, said in a statement that the attack was quickly mitigated after their "cybersecurity operations center detected a limited intrusion of malware that affected a small number of systems." To read the rest of our piece, click here.   LOOKING BACK ON THE WEEK: All eyes were on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who weathered tough questions about data privacy and his company's policies during 10 hours of congressional testimony over Tuesday and Wednesday. Facebook wasn't the only company on the hot seat. Uber agreed to extend a 2016 privacy agreement with the Federal Trade Commission in light of their massive data breach.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The White House calls former FBI director Comey a 'disgraced partisan hack' ahead of book release. (The Hill) Backpage.com pleads guilty to human trafficking. (The Hill) Inspector general releases long-awaited report on former FBI deputy Andrew McCabe. (The Hill) Democratic lawmakers are accusing the ex-CEO of Cambridge Analytica of giving deceiving testimony before Congress. (BuzzFeed) A cyber expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies argues that a 'monopoly' is not the issue with Facebook. (CSIS) The former HHS cybersecurity chief nabs a job at a voting technology company. (FedScoop) Homeland Security releases a recap of its 'Cyber Storm' exercise. (DHS) Police across the U.S. have purchased tools to unlock encrypted devices. (Motherboard) Pennsylvania's secretary of state is mandating voting machines that leave a paper trail. (PennLive) If you'd like to receive our newsletter in your inbox, please sign up here.           Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Cybersecurity Newsletters     Forward Cybersecurity Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.