Overnight Cybersecurity: Cyber bill back on table

by Cory Bennett - 07/30/15 7:24 PM ET

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 wrap their arms around cyberthreats. 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:

–HERE TODAY…: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that the Senate could take up cyber legislation next week, if Democrats block a bill to defund Planned Parenthood. “If we are unable to get on the defund Planned Parenthood bill on Monday, hopefully we will get on it, then we’re going to turn to cybersecurity next week and see if we can achieve something for the American people … before the August recess,” the Republican leader told reporters. The remarks put something of a period on a week of back and forth about whether the Senate would even try to get to the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which would boost the public-private sharing of data on hackers.

{mosads}–…GONE TOMORROW: But McConnell’s comments in no way mean the Senate will actually have time to finish CISA. After revealing his plans, both supporters and opponents of the bill were quick to throw cold water on the strategy. “I have mixed feelings about it,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the bill’s co-sponsor, told The Hill. “I’d obviously like to get it done. We’re working with people. Whether it can get done in a short floor time or not, I don’t know.” For months, CISA has been mired in an ongoing skirmish over digital privacy, which could result in a bruising debate when the bill does hit the floor. “It’d be good if it came up. I don’t know if we have time to finish it,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a cyber bill backer and the third-ranking Democrat, told The Hill. “It would be good to start it. The question is, do a lot of the Republicans add totally extraneous amendments? Are they going to try to turn cyber into something else?” To read about McConnell’s remarks, click here. To read about the potential protracted floor debate, click here.

–OK, LET’S FIGURE THIS OUT: The White House wants to establish strict, consistent rules for how government contractors should lock down sensitive data. “The threats facing federal information systems have dramatically increased as agencies provide more services online, digitally store data and rely on contractors for a variety of these information technology services,” said a notice in Thursday’s Federal Register. The administration said it will release updated cybersecurity rules for contractors to address this reality. The move comes on the heels of hacks at the government’s two largest background-check contractors, KeyPoint Government Solutions and U.S. Investigations Services (USIS). To read our full piece, click here.

UPDATE ON CYBER POLICY:

-A FRIEND!: The House now has companion legislation for a Senate measure rapidly heading toward the floor that would give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) more powers to defend government networks from cyberattacks.

On Wednesday, Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), who chairs an important House subcommittee on information technology, introduced the Einstein Act. The bill is named after the DHS program designed to detect and thwart known digital threats. It would officially authorize the program for the first time in its 10-plus years of existence.

The measure would facilitate the rollout of Einstein’s final stage, which is needed to actually repel, and not just spot, potential intruders. This last phase, known as Einstein 3 Accelerated, currently covers 45 percent of the federal government.

Hurd’s offering mirrors major portions of a bill that recently hit the Senate, the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act.

Check out our full piece, here.

LIGHTER CLICK:

–TWITTER CATFISHING. From Motherboard: “I Fell in Love With a Twitter Bot.”

Check it out, here.

WHO’S IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

–FAXES, over 6.2 million of which have been sent to senators’ offices this week in protest of CISA. Privacy advocates on Monday launched a website — stopcyberspying.com — which lets anyone write up and send a fax to senators. Photos are optional.

As of Thursday, the total had topped 6 million, said the groups behind the protest.

Read our original piece here.

A REPORT IN FOCUS:

–LOOKING FOR A JOB? Reuters has the story:

The FBI is struggling to attract computer scientists to its cybersecurity program mainly due to low pay, a report by the U.S. Department of Justice showed, highlighting weaknesses in a flagship initiative to tackle growing cyber threats.

As of January 2015, The Federal Bureau of Investigation had only hired 52 of the 134 computer scientists it was authorized to employ under the Justice Department’s Next Generation Cyber Initiative launched in 2012, the report showed.

Although cyber task forces have been set up at all 56 FBI field offices, five of them did not have a computer scientist assigned to them, the report by the Office of the Inspector General found.

Read the rest here.

A LOOK AHEAD:

FRIDAY

–The Brookings Institute will hold an event at 10 a.m. on the future of defense technology.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Links from our blog, The Hill, and around the Web.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) announced a new report by the GAO on the use of facial recognition technology. (TechCrunch)

Hanesbrands said hackers have accessed data on customer orders. (The Wall Street Journal)

This major flaw could let a lone-wolf hacker bring down huge swaths of the Internet. (ArsTechnica)

British Prime Minister David Cameron signed a cybersecurity pact with Singapore. (International Business Times)

The Justice Department wants to consolidate the OPM hack lawsuits that have been filed against the government. (Politico)

Palestinian hackers are targeting Israel in an escalating cyber war. (Al-Monitor)