OVERNIGHT CYBERSECURITY: NSA reform bill on the move

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:

–HOUSE MOVES NSA REFORM BILL: A House committee approved a major intelligence reform bill Thursday, setting the stage for a floor debate over U.S. spying. The House Judiciary Committee’s 25-2 vote to approve the USA Freedom Act is a major boost for efforts to rein in the National Security Agency (NSA), nearly two years after Edward Snowden’s first leaks about the agency and just a month before a key legislative deadline. The legislation would effectively end the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records, while also extending expiring parts of the Patriot Act until December 2019. To read more, click here.

     –CYBER NEXT?: Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said in a hearing this week that he’s anticipating a vote on the Senate’s cyber threat-sharing bill — the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) — in May, sometime after the House and Senate finish the NSA reform debate.

{mosads}–YET ANOTHER DATA BREACH MEASURE: The cascade of Senate data breach bills continues to rain down. A cavalcade of privacy-minded Senate Democrats led by Patrick Leahy (Vt.) on Thursday introduced the Consumer Privacy Protection Act. Like at least three other Senate offerings, the bill would require companies to notify customers following a data breach and set minimum data security requirements. Unlike some efforts, Leahy’s bill would not supersede stronger state data security requirements, a key sticking point for several Democrats who fear a weak federal standard might lessen consumer protections. To read more, click here.

–FLAME ON!: The Veterans Affairs Department has seen a “dramatic flame up” in digital intrusion attempts and malware over the past several months, said VA Chief Information Officer Stephen Warren during a call with reporters Thursday. In March, the agency blocked nearly four times the amount of malware and more than 20 times the number of intrusions as it did in November. In total, the VA is now stopping more than 350 million intrusion attempts and turning away upwards of 1 billion instances of malware per month. “The volume is ramping up at an unprecedented rate,” Warren said. To read more, click here.

UPDATE ON CYBER POLICY:

Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) who co-founded and co-chairs the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, had kind words for the cyber sections of 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed out of committee just before 5 a.m. Thursday morning.

“I am encouraged to see this committee’s commitment to strengthening our nation’s cyber defenses as an integral component of our overall national security strategy,” the lawmaker said in a statement.

The House’s Pentagon budget would fully fund the U.S. Cyber Command programs.

LIGHTER CLICK:

The ever-awesome Internet Archive now lets you embed classic MS-DOS games directly in tweets. So go ahead and tweet out all the greats: the classic “Prince of Persia,” the addictive “Sim City” and the incomparable “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.” (TechCrunch)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

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

Wal-Mart is continually testing the security of its networks in light of the Target breach. (The Hill)

Beware email scams related to the Nepal earthquake, officials warned. (The Hill)

Three things to know about cybersecurity legislation in Congress. (Council on Foreign Relations)

A guide to how the Pentagon could share Americans’ data with foreign militaries. (Defense One)

RSA President Amit Yoran says the need for cyber intelligence shouldn’t slow down the use of encryption. (Computer World)

A guide to digital policy in the UK’s 2015 general election. (Ars Technica)

Hackers used malware to fake views on pro-Russia videos. (Motherboard)

The FBI released a document called “cell phone tracking for dummies.” (Motherboard)

Has the risk of a major cyberattack against the United States been overhyped? (Politico)

The FBI is launching a major manhunt for cybersecurity talent. (FierceCIO)

FireEye is raising its revenue forecast. (Reuters)

Your new chip-and-pin card might not be as safe as you think. (Washington Post)

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