More Signal. Less Noise.

V2 | Issue 129 | 7.20.20

Cyber czars, pro and con. TikTok bans? Vaccine hacking and international norms. China objects.

Summary

By the CyberWire staff

At a glance.

A US national cyber director, pro and con.
Banning TikTok.
Vaccine hacking and international norms.
China objects, again, to Britain's exclusion of Huawei from its 5G infrastructure.

A US cyber czar, pro and con.

Hearings on Capitol Hill are receiving testimony and offering comment to the effect that the Twitter hack shows the need for a national cybersecurity director in the White House, to be established along lines recommended by the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, Consumer Electronics reports. It does seem inevitable that any high-profile hack would be received as lending urgency to proposals for a cyber czar.

For a dissenting view, however, see an essay in Lawfare, which argues that the two objectives creating such a position are said to serve ("elevate and empower existing cybersecurity agencies, particularly the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency," and "create new focal points for coordinating cybersecurity in the executive branch and Congress") don't really hold water. Instead, it would be better to simply give CISA a greater budget and more of the authorities it might need.

TikTok ban under consideration in the US (it's already a done deal in India).

The US Government seems to be moving toward serious consideration of banning TikTok as a security risk. An op-ed in TheHill suggests that such a ban would be based more on the generally frosty bilateral relations between the US and China than on specific cases of misconduct on the part of the social platform, but on the other hand TikTok does collect a great deal of data on its users.

India's relations with China may be said to be even worse than those the US enjoys, because India and China in late spring had some lethal skirmishes on their common border. On June 29th the Indian government included TikTok in a list of banned Chinese apps, and its former users are said by NPR to be missing it. Quartz does note that social music-streaming app Resso, one of TikTok's corporate sisters in the ByteDance family, is still doing a land office business in the subcontinent.

COVID-19 vaccine hacking and international norms.

The Washington Post collects expert opinions about Russian and Chinese hacking of COVID-19 vaccine research and finds they differ over how to respond, and even whether the hacking represented legitimate intelligence collection or a clear violation of international norms. Norms or no norms, there’s a significant amount of bipartisan animus directed toward recent incidents of biomedical research hacking.

The BBC reports that the Russian ambassador to London has gone out on a limb and said Russia didn't do it.

We have seen the future, and it works in Shenzhen.

Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, who represents China in London, has sharply criticized the UK's decision to eject Huawei from its 5G infrastructure, the Express reports. The ambassador said that in turning its back on Huawei, Britain is "rejecting the future," which is one way of looking at it.

Selected Reading

Hacked: Why Cyber Attribution Remains an Unsolved Problem for U.S. National Security (The National Interest) It’s been almost four years since the DNC network was breached. What has actually changed?

A look at Chinese cos having investments in India with PLA links, as Centre probes 59 apps - Republic World (Republic World) India is also scrutinising several Chinese companies involved and invested in the Indian market on financing, data security, funds, parent company, harvesting

Biden Begins Receiving Intel Briefs, Warns of Russian Meddling (Bloomberg) He also accuses China of plotting to sap election confidence. Biden hits Trump over reports that he doesn’t read briefings.

On Huawei, the Trudeau government has dithered its way through (Toronto Star) ‘As time marches on, a decision against Huawei seems inevitable. When it becomes official it will be an anti-climax — and that may be just the result ...

China ambassador launches scathing attack on UK for Huawei ban - ‘Rejecting the future!' (Express.co.uk) CHINA'S ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming has blasted the government's choice to remove Huawei's technology from its 5G network.

UK asks Japan for help with 5G as alternative to Huawei (Nikkei Asian Review) NEC and Fujitsu to benefit but face competitors Ericsson and Nokia

Pressure from Trump led to 5G ban, Britain tells Huawei (the Guardian) ‘Geopolitical’ factors were behind the move, the company was told, with hints that the decision could be reversed in future

US takes next steps in Huawei, ZTE clampdown (Mobile World Live) The US government moved to tighten sanctions on Chinese telecoms vendors, with the Federal Communications ...

FCC Begins Implementation of Huawei, ZTE USF Bans (LawStreetMedia) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Thursday that it will implement segments of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (Secure Networks Act) which was enacted in March, into its current supply chain rulemaking. This is an additional step taken by the FCC to protect the United States’ communications networks from security risks.

Could Trump Win the War on Huawei—and Is TikTok Next? (Wired) In a plot twist, the administration’s assault on the Chinese telecom giant is gaining traction. At heart, the US has an interest in its own electronic surveillance capabilities.

Florida Congressmen Call on Trump Administration to Crack Down on TikTok (Florida Daily) Last week, five Republicans in the Florida delegation–U.S. Reps. Neal Dunn, Matt Gaetz, Ross Spano, Greg Steube and Ted Yoho–joined 20 other members of Congress in calling on the Trump administration to crack down on TikTok and other social media apps connected to the Chinese regime.

TikTok may be a political-culture war victim, when the larger issue is data use (TheHill) It’s unclear as to whether the concern is in response to TikTok’s massive popularity.

Does TikTok Really Pose a Risk to US National Security? (Wired) Concerns about the Chinese government shouldn't be dismissed, experts say. But banning TikTok would be a drastic measure.

Threat Of TikTok Ban Suddenly Gets Serious: Here’s What That Means For You (Forbes) It is now becoming clear how a U.S. ban on TikTok might work—and the Trump administration says it may come "within weeks." For tens of millions of American users, this will come as a serious shock.

Forget TikTok. There are better ways to protect Americans' data from China. (NBC News) Analysis: Focusing on the video app's security issues overlooks the common-sense changes that could keep all Americans safe.

Twitter Hack Highlights Need for White House Cyber Director, Hearing Told (Consumer Electronics Daily) Twitter’s human-enabled hack is another example of why the White House needs a national cyber director and the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s (CSC) recommendations should be implemented (see 2007150065), said House Cybersecurity Subcommittee members during a hearing Friday.

Establishing a National Cyber Director Would Be a Mistake (Lawfare) A recent proposal from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission would solve few problems and create many.

16th Air Force Gets Full Operational Capability Authorization; Timothy Haugh Quoted - Executive Gov (Executive Gov) The U.S. Air Force’s new cyber and information warfare-focused command unit has achieved full operat

Vanguard “America’s pioneers in cyberspace” changes command (DVIDS) Col. Matthew J. Lennox, commander, 780th Military Intelligence Brigade (Cyber), hosted a virtual change of command ceremony in which Lt. Col. Nadine K. Nally relinquished her command of the 781st MI Battalion (Cyber) “Vanguard” to Lt. Col. Michael L. Arner on July 16.

German Watchdog Raises Red Flags On Smart TV Privacy (Law360) Germany's antitrust and consumer protection watchdog raised concerns Friday that the rise of smart TVs has opened the door to numerous threats to privacy and fair competition and has revealed holes in German laws meant to prevent consumer harm.

FTC Considering Deposing Top Facebook Executives in Antitrust Probe (Wall Street Journal) The Federal Trade Commission is considering taking sworn testimony from Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg as part of its yearlong probe of whether the company has engaged in unlawful monopolistic practices.

Europe’s Highest Court Invalidates the EU-US Privacy Shield, Casts Doubt on Viability of Model Clauses for Data Transfers to the US (Cooley) On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a decision that uprooted long-standing legal frameworks on which thousands of US and EU companies have relied to transfer persona…

Twitter hack triggers investigations and lawmaker concerns (Washington Post) The FBI is launching an investigation, while lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called for more information.

FBI probe into Bitcoin-related Twitter hack begins (Yahoo) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched an investigation into the recent Twitter hack that resulted in a number of influential accounts being compromised. The likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates were among a long list of names who fell victim to the hack, with tweets being sent

FBI Investigates Twitter Hack Amid Broader Concerns About Platform’s Security (Wall Street Journal) The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining the attack on the social-media platform, amid concerns that the vulnerability of Twitter’s systems could pose broader risks to international security.

Government's test-and-trace programme is illegal under GDPR (Computing) The government skipped essential data privacy impact assessments in its rush to get the system up and running

Judge Blocks Further Inquiries in FOIA Case Questioning Hillary Clinton's Email Practices (New York Law Journal) I find it hard from a practical perspective to believe that somehow [State Department officials] have not done their duty in trying to find records that relate to Secretary Clinton, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said at a recent hearing in the public records case.

'Stop phone hacking for China' (Taiwan News) Pro-democracy leader starts petition to stop Israel’s Cellebrite cracking Hong Kong protesters' phones

World's Most Wanted Man Jan Marsalek Located in Belarus; Data Points to Russian Intel Links (bellingcat) It can safely be assumed that Jan Marsalek is currently one of the most hunted-for persons on earth. The company he oversaw operationally, Germany’s Wirecard, collapsed overnight last month after auditors brought attention to a nearly 2 billion Euro gaping hole in its balance sheet. The hole was the result of the recognition that cash …

2nd Circuit Upholds 4-Year Sentence for Man Convicted of Cyberstalking His Ex-Girlfriend | New York Law Journal (New York Law Journal) A three-judge panel of the Manhattan-based appeals court said Thomas Traficante's prison term, followed by three years of supervised release, was well-rooted in the offense, which a federal judge at sentencing called about as serious as they get.