The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, released its annual report to Congress this month. The 793-page report responds to the Commission’s mandate to “monitor, investigate, and report to Congress on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.” The report is
National Security
U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bill to Ban TikTok Unless Divested from ByteDance
Yesterday, with broad bipartisan support, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly (352-65) to support the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, designed to begin the process of banning TikTok’s use in the United States. This is music to my ears. See a previous blog post on this subject.
The Act would penalize…
Lawmakers Seek Ban of Chinese Drones for U.S. Government
Next week, the House of Representatives China Committee plans to introduce a bill that would ban the purchase of Chinese-made drones by the U.S. government. This bill is an effort to revamp the prior push for this ban that was derailed by lobbying efforts.
The American Security Drone Act, as it is coined, would not…
Privacy Tip #377 – China’s Threat to US: Watch 60 Minutes with the Five Eyes
If you didn’t get to watch “60 Minutes” on Sunday and see the “Five Eyes” warn us all about China, put it on your list to watch soon.
The Five Eyes are the intelligence leaders of five allied countries: U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. I have never seen all five together before and…
FCC Bans Import of Chinese Technology
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will categorically ban devices over national security concerns for the first time in history. Per a new order, the FCC will prohibit the import and sale of devices produced by Huawei and ZTE, and restrict the use of several other Chinese-produced devices for government and critical infrastructure purposes. Huawei…
The Effect of a Biden-Harris Presidency on Privacy in the U.S.
How will a Biden-Harris presidency affect the U.S. privacy landscape? Let’s take a look.
Federal Privacy Legislation
On both sides of the political aisle there have been draft proposals in the last 18 months on federal privacy legislation. In September, movement actually happened on federal privacy legislation with the U.S. Setting an American Framework to…
Chinese and Russian Hackers Targeting COVID-19 Vaccine Makers in U.S. Crosshairs
Last week, authorities from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada accused a well-known hacker group tied to the Russian government, APT29 a/k/a Cozy Bear of using malware to exploit security vulnerabilities to enable it to steal COVID-19 vaccine research from companies located in these countries working to develop a vaccine. This was after a…
DOJ Charges Defense Contractor with Removal and Retention of Classified Materials
The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday announced that it has charged a Maryland man, Harold Thomas Martin III with theft of government property and unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials by a government employee or contractor.
According to the criminal complaint against Martin that was unsealed yesterday, Martin was a contractor with the federal…
The biggest surveillance and national security event of the year: Super Bowl 50
While you are dipping chips and pulling apart BBQ wings, over 60 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies will be combining their efforts to survey the nearly one million people who will travel to the San Francisco area for Super Bowl 50. Agencies ranging from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Drug Enforcement…