Posts Tagged: "Cybersecurity"

When one thinks of cybercrime, it can be easy to imagine a mysterious figure in a dimly lit room sending out various phishing emails to unsuspecting victims. However, this is not always the most dangerous tactic used by hackers, according to the United Kingdom (UK) Government Communications Headquarters’ (GCHQ’s) cybersecurity arm. On June 14, the UK National Cyber Security Centre claimed that ransomware represented the biggest threat to online security for most people and businesses, with the number of incidents soaring worldwide in the last two years. And it is a problem and a threat that we must all be wary of.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has changed every aspect of our lives, digital transformation in healthcare has accelerated above others. The pandemic has changed the healthcare delivery paradigm from human to digital platforms faster than Klaus Schwab could have imagined. In 2016, the World Economic Forum chairman coined the phrase “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” envisioning the combination of fourth industrial-era technologies in hardware, software, and biology, or cyber-physical systems. These new technologies, leveraging advances in communication, connectivity, and computing power, would usher in a more efficient way to live, work, and socialize. Who knew how the horrific circumstances triggered by a global pandemic could accelerate an evolution that might have taken 20 years and condensed into a single year. Healthcare has gone digital, and there is no going back now.

On the heels of a global pandemic where safety requires that we socially distance and work from anywhere, demand is exploding for innovation to adapt to this new way of living. Our new environment will require more and more computing power to migrate to the edge of the network. Computing power housed in data centers and cloud environments is moving closer to end-users and devices in edge computing centers. Eventually, fueled by ubiquitous 5G+ connectivity bandwidths, one can foresee the migration of computing power to the very edge of your interconnected devices. Technology is racing forward to meet the challenges and exploit new opportunities. Ethical questions will need to be answered to regulate through the evolving network technology architecture. Corporate legal functions will need to adapt and partner with product managers to ensure compliance.

Cybersecurity is a concern for any business operating in the digital age, but companies with strong intellectual property divisions have some very specific security issues to handle. A recent conference on the subject of Chinese theft of American IP featured comments from Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, who remarked that the FBI has been investigating about 1,000 alleged cases of IP theft from Chinese actors since the China Initiative was launched by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) in late 2018. Statistics provided by the FBI at that conference showed that technology theft cases involving China grew rapidly between 2008 and 2012, after which a steady rise has continued through 2020.

We are fast approaching the second anniversary of the enactment of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), yet businesses are still dragging their heels when it comes to cybersecurity. A recent report by insurance firm Gallagher found that 82% of UK businesses do not have specialist insurance in place to indemnify them for the cost and impact of a cyber-attack. Midsize businesses were found to be particularly exposed, with nearly half (46%) believing that cyber-attacks are “mainly an issue for bigger organisations”. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. Any business, no matter its size, can fall victim to a data breach and find itself dealing with a reputational and financial crisis.

As the European Union’s landmark Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was set to go into effect in 2018, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) engaged in a series of important, albeit belated, community consultations, with the objective of resolving perceived community concerns with legal compliance of the “Look Up” system (previously called the “WHOIS” system) with data protection laws, such as the GDPR. The end result of the consultations resulted in ICANN adopting a “Temporary Specification” (Temp Spec) – a new contractual provision allowing its accredited-registrars and registries to perform a wholesale redaction of the registration data that has historically been made available to the public.

This week in Washington, D.C., the House Intellectual Property Subcommittee will explore the  impact of the Federal Circuit’s recent Arthrex decision on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB’s) administrative patent judges on Tuesday. Other House subcommittees will look at small business contributions to smart construction projects and the National Institute of Health’s (NIH’s) efforts to improve flu vaccine innovation, while the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will explore FCC control over the upcoming 5G wireless spectrum auction. Elsewhere in the Senate, the Energy Committee will look at several bills related to energy innovation, including an ARPA-E reauthorization bill. Off of Capitol Hill, the American Enterprise Institute will look at how the adoption of automated technologies will affect the future of employment in the U.S. Army. 

Imagine the following scenario: You have an idea for a new mobile application. As adoption of the app picks up, so does your business, and you hire more employees to provide sales and support assistance. You are on your way to transforming your startup into a successful business. Needing additional capital to scale the business more quickly, you identify a strategic partner interested in investing in your business. Before you can close on the funding, several employees report that they did not receive their paychecks through the direct deposit system. The investigation reveals that several months ago, your organization received a series of spear phishing emails. You learn that multiple employees opened the email and its attachment giving the cybercriminals access to your systems. Not only are you out the payroll money, but you also learn that in addition to your employees’ banking information, the criminals had access to your customer contact information and the source code for your app. A cyberattack is an unwelcome event for any company, but the effects can be especially detrimental to a startup, with 60% or more of small businesses that experience a data breach going out of business within a year of the breach. It is impossible for any size business to guarantee a system that is fully secure. However, not all companies have millions of dollars to invest in cybersecurity and by allocating even limited funds to assessing your data privacy risks, implementing a protection plan and creating an incident response plan, a startup can significantly improve its chances of surviving a cyberattack.

This week in tech and innovation hearings in Washington, D.C., the House of Representatives explores issues related to emerging cyber threats, Facebook’s cryptocurrency and its impact on the financial sector, space weather research and supporting clean automobile developments. House committees will also hold two field hearings outside of D.C. on improving Internet connectivity in rural communities and community initiatives in smart mobility programs. In the Senate, committee hearings will focus on ownership of personal data, international energy efficiency efforts and the reauthorization of compulsory copyright licenses for satellite broadcasts under STELAR. Elsewhere, Cato Institute will host an event looking at advances to space technology encouraged by the private sector, while the week closes out with an event at The Heritage Foundation discussing the effect of data surveillance on Fourth Amendment protections.

This week in Washington D.C., the Congressional hearings schedule is empty as both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives enter work periods. However, Monday kicks off with a pair of think tank events on global technology issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Atlantic Council. The Brookings Institution hosts a pair of tech-related events this week—one focused on threats to democracy through digital capitalism and the other exploring how tech policy has altered the U.S.-China relationship. Other events include a look at securing supply chains for information and communication technology at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a look at the future of the Marine Corps at The Heritage Foundation.

Yesterday, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Representatives Mark Takano (D-CA) and Bill Foster (D-IL) introduced the Office of Technology Assessment Improvement and Enhancement Act, which if enacted would introduce enhancements to the existing Office of Technology Assessment statute codified at 2 U.S.C. §472. According to the sponsors, this bipartisan legislation would improve and enhance the existing Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) by making it more accessible and responsive to the needs of Members of Congress. The OTA, which existed for a generation spanning three decades in the 1970s, 80s and into the mid 1990s, became defunct when Republicans took control of Congress after the 1994 midterm elections. A draft funding bill released by House Democrats this spring first showed interest in resurrecting the OTA.

This week on Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives is in recess but in the Senate, committee hearings will focus on the rescheduled oversight hearing for the U.S. Copyright Office, regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies and blockchain, and implementation of positive train control technologies. Elsewhere in Washington, D.C., the Brookings Institution will look at international threats to American space security while the Center for Strategic and International Studies will host an event with multiple panels exploring innovation and security issues in 5G networks. Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also hosted an event in Alexandria, VA, discussing the agency’s trademark auditing program.

This week, the U.S. Senate will hold hearings on enhancing drone innovation and addressing cybersecurity concerns; reducing prescription drug prices; and developments in geothermal energy technologies. The House of Representatives will host a hearing on clean energy tech development as well as a markup meeting on a proposed bill to increase participation in STEM careers. Meanwhile, think tanks the American Enterprise Institute and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation will take a look at the patent reform debate with Representative Steve Stivers (R-OH) and explore the potential effects of proposed drug pricing reforms on innovation in the pharmaceutical sector, respectively.

Tuesday and Wednesday are the only busy days this week for tech and innovation hearings on Capitol Hill. In the U.S. House of Representatives, subcommittee hearings on Tuesday will explore transportation innovations to address climate change and growing the talent pipeline for cybersecurity. In the U.S. Senate, the Judiciary Committee gets together on Tuesday to discuss data privacy and competition policy, while the Special Committee on Aging explores technological advances that help Americans with accessibility on Wednesday. Elsewhere in the Washington, D.C. area, The Brookings Institution looks at issues with potential biases in the use of machine learning algorithms and The Heritage Foundation dissects China’s goals for technological and international dominance.