Responding to the SolarWinds incident. Cybersecurity for commercial satellites. Brazil's president restricts removal of social media posts. Kiersten Todt appointed US CISA chief of staff.

At a glance.

• A look at Washington's response to the SolarWinds incident.
• Cybersecurity standards for commercial satellites.
• Restrictions in Brazil inhibit social media from removing posts.
• Kiersten Todt appointed CISA chief of staff.

Diagnosing Washington’s response to SolarWinds.

Eurasia Review thinks four primary factors motivated the Biden Administration to deviate from international norms in retaliating for the Holiday Bear espionage campaign:

1. President Biden wished to distinguish himself from President Trump, whom his party sought to portray as in league with Moscow. 
2. The Obama Administration tried appeasement and failed to rein in Russia. 
3. The event received extensive media coverage that often confused the campaign with information warfare and pressured the Administration to respond. 
4. Moscow’s asymmetric strategy, which leverages influence operations and criminal actors, is challenging Washington’s cyber dominance and raising the stakes of inaction. 

Space Force preps cybersecurity standards for satellite systems.

Air Force Magazine says the Space Force Commercial Satellite Communications Office (CSCO) will this month issue a timeline for rolling out the long-awaited Infrastructure Asset Pre-Assessment (IA-Pre) program. IA-Pre will set cybersecurity standards for satcom vendors hoping to win military contracts, requiring external appraisal of alignment with enhanced National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-53 guidelines. The rules will impact both space and ground equipment and networks in an effort to bolster commercial systems’ resilience to cyberattacks and smooth acquisition procedures. The move toward greater regulation is consistent with the greater use Space Force intends to make of commercial satellite services.

Brazil restricts social media’s ability to remove posts.

The New York Times unpacks Brazilian President Bolsonaro’s provisional measure prohibiting platforms like Facebook and Twitter from censoring some posts that violate their terms of service. Without a court order, the companies can only take down content in the ballpark of nudity and crime—and the Government can overrule moderation decisions. The platforms have a month to comply, but the order is expected to expire in four months, if it’s not overturned sooner. President Bolsonaro cited free speech and civil rights concerns in announcing the rule; critics are raising worries about lawful but awful content, disinformation, and private sector freedoms. Mexico, Poland, and the US have considered similar regulations. 

Kiersten Todt to become CISA Chief of Staff.

CISA announced in an email this morning that Kiersten E. Todt, most recently Managing Director of the Cyber Readiness Institute, as the new Chief of Staff for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Todt's previous government experience includes service as the Executive Director of President Obama's independent, bipartisan Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity and as a Professional Staff Member at the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.