Archive for the ‘NSA’ Category

The Cyberlaw Podcast: Can Editorial Middleware Cut the Power of the Big Platforms? – Lawfare

Our interview this week is with Francis Fukuyama, a fellow and teacher at Stanford and a renowned scholar and public intellectual for at least three decades. He is the coauthor of the Report of the Working Group on Platform Scale. Its insightful on the structural issues that have enhanced the power of platforms to suppress and shape public debate. It understands the temptation to address those issues through an antitrust lens as well as the reasons why antitrust will fail to address the threat that platform power poses to our democracy. As a solution, it proposes to force the platforms to divest their curatorial authority over what Americans (and the world) reads, creating a host of middleware suppliers who will curate consumers feeds in the way that consumers prefer. We explore the many objections to this approach, from first amendment purists to those, mainly on the left, who really like the idea of suppressing their opponents on the right. But it remains the one policy proposal that could attract support from left and right and also make a real difference.

In the news roundup, Dmitri Alperovich, Nick Weaver, and I have a spirited debate over the wisdom of Googles decision to expose and shut down a western intelligence agencys use of zero day exploits against terrorist targets. I argue that if a vulnerabilities equities process balancing security and intelligence is something we expect from NSA, it should also be expected of Google.

Nate Jones and Dmitri explore the slightly odd policy take on SolarWinds that seems to be coming from NSA and Cyber Command the notion that the Russians exploited NSAs domestic blind spot by using US infrastructure for their attack. That suggests that NSA wants to do more spying domestically, although no such proposal has surface. Nate, Dmitri, and I are united in thinking that the solution is a change in US law, though Dmitri thinks a know your customer rule for cloud providers is the best answer, while I think I persuaded Nate that empowering faster and more automatic warrant procedures for the FBI is doable, pretty much as we did with the burner phone problem in the 90s.

The courts, meanwhile, seem to be looking for ways to bring back a Potter Stewart style of jurisprudence for new technology and the fourth amendment: I cant define it, but I know it when it creeps me out. The first circuits lengthy oral argument on how long video surveillance of public spaces can continue without violating the fourth amendment is a classic of the genre.

Dmitri and Nick weigh in on Facebooks takedown of Chinese hackers using Facebook to target Uighurs abroad.

Dmitri thinks we can learn policy lessons from the exposure (and likely sanctioning) of the private Chinese companies that carried out the operation.

Dmitri also explains why CISAs head is complaining about the refusal of private companies to tell DHS which US government agencies were compromised in SolarWinds. The companies claimed that their NDAs with, say, Treasury meant that they couldnt tell DHS that Treasury had been pawned. Thats an all too familiar example of federal turf fights hurting federal cybersecurity.

In our ongoing feature, This Week in U.S.-China Decoupling, we cover the Disaster in Alaska evaluate the latest bipartisan bill to build a Western technology sphere to compete with Chinas sector, note the completely predictable process ousting of Chinese telecom companies from the US market, and conclude that the financial sectors effort to defy the gravity of decoupling will be a hard act to maintain.

Always late to embrace a trend, I offer Episode 1 of the Cyberlaw Podcast as a Non-Fungible Token to the first listener to cough up $150, and Nick explains why it would be cheap at a tenth the price, dashing my hopes of selling the next 354 episodes and retiring.

Nick and I have kind words for whoever is doxxing Russian criminal gangs, and I suggest offering the doxxer a financial reward (not just a hat tip in a Brian Krebs column.) We have fewer kind words for the prospect that AI will soon be able to locate, track, and bankrupt problem gamblers.

I issue a rare correction to an earlier episode, noting that Israel may not have traded its citizens health data for first dibs on the Pfizer vaccine. It turns out that what was deidentified aggregate health data, Israel offered Pfizer which with proper implementation may actually stay aggregate and deidentified. And I offer my own hat tip to Peter Machtiger, for a student note in an NYU law journal that cites the Cyberlaw Podcast, twice!

And more!

Download the 355th Episode (mp3)

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of their institutions, clients, friends, families, or pets.

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The Cyberlaw Podcast: Can Editorial Middleware Cut the Power of the Big Platforms? - Lawfare

Richland Sheriff Leon Lott named national sheriff of the year – WLTX.com

Lott has led the agency since 1996.

COLUMBIA, S.C. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott has been named national Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriff's Association.

Officially the NSA Ferris E. Lucas Award for Sheriff of the Year, the award will be presented during NSAs annual national convention in June.

This is a tremendous honor both personally and for the state of South Carolina, said Lott, who received an announcement letter Monday. This is the first time a S.C. sheriff has been named national Sheriff of the Year. And to be recognized by this 81-year-old organization with a history going back to the 19th century in which some of the most important local and national law enforcement policy has been legislated, makes it all the more rewarding to me.

Lott is nearing 25 years in office as Richland County's sheriff, winning his first election in 1996.

Founded in 1940, the NSA represents thousands of sheriffs, deputies, and other law enforcement, and public safety professionals, nationwide, with the Associations roots stretching back to the Interstate Sheriffs' Association founded in Minnesota and surrounding states in 1888.

NSA serves as the center of a vast network of law enforcement information, filling requests for information daily and enabling criminal justice professionals, including police officers, sheriffs, and deputies, to locate the information and programs they need, according to their website (sheriffs.org). Among NSAs national resources is SHERIFF & DEPUTY magazine, in which the work of Lotts Richland County Sheriffs Department has been regularly featured since 2016.

The NSA Ferris E. Lucas Award for Sheriff of the Year was established in 1995.

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Richland Sheriff Leon Lott named national sheriff of the year - WLTX.com

Pentagon’s Cyber Forces Conducted Dozens of Operations to Protect 2020 Elections, General Says – MSSP Alert

by D. Howard Kass Mar 29, 2021

Paul Nakasone, CyberCom, NSA and Central Security Service

The Pentagons cyber forces carried out some two dozen strategic operations to safeguard the 2020 national elections, said General Paul Nakasone, the Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command (CyberCom), who serves concurrently as Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Central Security Service.

In testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Nakasone said that CyberCom conducted the campaigns to quash foreign threats before they interfered or influenced the 2020 elections. Eleven of the operations in nine different countries were hunt forward, intended to secure the 2020 election, he said.

The initiatives appear to have been successful. An intelligence review by the National Intelligence Council released in early March, 2020, asserted that no foreign adversary successfully manipulated votes or conducted cyber attacks that discredited the elections results. We have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to alter any technical aspect of the voting process in the 2020 elections, including voter registration, casting ballots, vote tabulation or voting results, the audit said.

Nakasone credited partnerships with the NSA, the Homeland Security Departments cyber wing and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for sharing information with those who need it as quickly as possible. In particular, CyberComs alliance with the NSA remains the foundation of our success, he said. He also pointed to CyberComs efforts to enable domestic industry, allies and partners by providing critical threat information and insights, which improve their ability to act under their unique authorities.

As a case in point, CyberCom and the NSA are helping to craft the Biden administrations response to the Russian-executed SolarWinds cyber attack. Policymakers are considering a range of options, including costs that might be imposed by other elements of our government, Nakasone said.

Chris Krebs, former director, CISA

The generals remarks echo earlier statements by Christoper Krebs, who formerly headed the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA), which operates as the nations cyber central. Barring closer scrutiny, harsher consequences and stronger leadership, the nation hasnt reached the upper limit of devastating cyber attacks, particularly from Russian hackers, Krebs and other security officials told lawmakers in recent testimony to the House Homeland Security Committee.

Krebs, who former President Trump fired after the 2020 presidential election, called for more powerful measures to discourage cyber attackers, advocated for a whole-of-government approach, stronger federal leadership and labeling cybersecurity as a threat to national security. The behavior will continue until the leadership has decided that it cannot tolerate further behavior, he said.

Immediately following the 2020 election, Krebs called it the most secure in U.S. history, claiming that no evidence of foreign meddling had emerged. I know the work that the intelligence community has done, the Department of Defense has done, that the FBI has done, that my team has done. I know that these systems are more secure. I know based on what we have seen that any attacks on the election were not successful.

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Pentagon's Cyber Forces Conducted Dozens of Operations to Protect 2020 Elections, General Says - MSSP Alert

T-Mobile’s Band n71 5G NR Standalone (SA) Network and How it Compares with the Operator’s 5G NR Non-Standalone (NSA) Network – Yahoo Eurosport UK

Dublin, April 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "5G: The Greatest Show on Earth! Vol 13: Needle in a Haystack" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report focuses on the T-Mobile Band n71 5G NR Standalone (SA) network and how it compares with the operator's 5G NR Non-Standalone (NSA) network. They tested in the Dallas area, as well as rural areas in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Highlights of the Report include the following:

Thanks: This study was in collaboration with Accuver Americas, Rohde & Schwarz, and Spirent Communications who provided the publisher with their respective test equipment and platforms, which they identify in the report. The publisher did all the testing and analysis of the data and they are solely responsible for the commentary in the report.

Methodology: Most of the testing was with two smartphones operating in parallel. One smartphone (S20 Ultra) supported SA and the other smartphone (McLaren OnePlus or Note 10 Plus) only supported NSA. In some tests they forced the S20 Ultra to remain in SA mode even though NSA was available. They logged chipset diagnostic messages and captured scanner data to independently determine LTE and 5G NR RF characteristics.

Improved Coverage and Performance: Although it wasn't easy to find locations where the smartphone used [needed] SA, in those regions, the publisher observed 5G NR coverage which didn't exist with the NSA-capable smartphone. They also documented meaningful increases in end-user data speeds, even in cases when the NSA smartphone was using both LTE and 5G NR.

Latency Results were Mixed: The publisher measured handover times, acquisition times, RTT and web page load times. The results were mixed, at best.

Related Challenges: PDCP packet losses, especially with poor LTE coverage remain a big problem that isn't specific to any operator or vendor. Furthermore, they continue to observe smartphones camping on a low-band LTE frequency (i.e., Band 12) instead of leveraging 5G NR in another low-band frequency. The publisher is very familiar with the airplane mode feature which can trigger a different response and the desired outcome.

Story continues

Sidebar Study: Because they could, the publisher drove across much of Wisconsin while testing the top three operator networks. AT&T had the fastest network (by far) while the T-Mobile network had the greatest use of 5G NR. They also captured scanner data to look at operator low-/mid-band LTE coverage and 5G NR coverage.

Key Topics Covered:

1.0 Executive Summary

2.0 Key Observations

3.0 Latency-Related Metrics

4.0 5G NR SA Coverage and Performance 4.1 Wisconsin 4.2 Minnesota

5.0 Test Methodology

6.0 Final Thoughts

7.0 Appendix

Companies Mentioned

AT&T

McLaren

Samsung

T-Mobile

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/n5js4p

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T-Mobile's Band n71 5G NR Standalone (SA) Network and How it Compares with the Operator's 5G NR Non-Standalone (NSA) Network - Yahoo Eurosport UK

NSA begins disinfection of game venues ahead of GPL return – GhanaWeb

Sports News of Wednesday, 31 March 2021

Source: http://www.ghanaweb.com

The exercise is to limit the spread of coronavirus at game venues

The National Sports Authority has embarked on a disinfection exercise of all accredited match venues ahead of the resumption of the 2020/2021 Ghana Premier League.

A disinfection implementation plan sighted by GhanaWeb indicates that the exercise which begun on March 30, 2021, will end tomorrow, April 1, 2021.

In all, fourteen match venues are expected to be disinfected as part of plans to limit the spread of Covid-19 during Premier League matches.

The Ghana Premier League has been on break since March 6, 2021, after the end of the first round.

The league was initially supposed to resume on March 19 but was rescheduled due to the involvement of some players in Black Stars assignment.

This weekend will, however, see a return of the league with a top-liner between Accra Hearts of Oak and Aduana Stars at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The Ghana Football Association has meanwhile released a list of venues that have been cleared to host games.

The venues, according to the Club Licensing Board have fulfilled all conditions necessary to hold matches.

The first half of the season ended with Karela United leading the table with 31 points, one more than Accra Great Olympics.

Giants Accra Hearts of Oak and Kotoko occupy the third and fourth spots respectively.

Inter allies, on the other hand, are languishing at the bottom of the league table with just 12 points. Joining them in the relegation battle are Liberty Professionals and King Faisal.

The exercise is being undertaken by Tebel Company Ltd.

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NSA begins disinfection of game venues ahead of GPL return - GhanaWeb