OVERNIGHT CYBERSECURITY: White House urges speed in NSA fight

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:

–STORM BREWING ON PATRIOT ACT: The White House is urging Congress not to put off a fight over expiring portions of the Patriot Act used to justify the NSA’s bulk phone data collection. “Our strategy on these important security matters is to not kick the can down the road,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Monday. “Congress has known of this impending deadline for months and months … The June 1st expiration should not be taking anyone by surprise.” The comments come as a rebuke to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has opened the door to a short-term extension of parts of the law set to expire at the end of the month. To read our full piece, click here.

{mosads}–WHAT’S WITH THIS AIRPLANE HACKER?: There’s little clarity in the story of security researcher Chris Roberts. Did he actually tell the FBI that he hacked an airplane’s control system, causing it to “fly sideways”? Did he actually hack an airplane’s system? Is this even possible? “While we will not comment on specific allegations, there is no credible information to suggest an airplane’s flight control system can be accessed or manipulated from its in-flight entertainment system,” a senior federal law enforcement official said Monday in a statement. “Nevertheless, attempting to tamper with the flight control systems of aircraft is illegal and any such attempts will be taken seriously by law enforcement.” Stay tuned for more. To read our full piece click here.

     –WAIT, WHAT?: The Christian Science Monitor goes deep dive on Roberts’ strange odyssey this past month: “Roberts’ statements and the FBI’s actions raise as many questions as they answer. For Roberts, the question is why the FBI is suddenly focused on years-old research that has long been part of the public record.” Read the full piece here.  

–TAKING THE FIGHT TO KIM JONG-UN: The U.S. and South Korea pledged Monday to strengthen cybersecurity coordination, as North Korea peppers its neighbor with a growing array of digital attacks. The talks in Seoul were mainly focused on North Korea’s advancing nuclear program, demonstrated last week by the reported test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile. If true, the test would violate United Nations sanctions on the country. But Secretary of State John Kerry also took North Korea to task for “provocative, destabilizing and repressive actions” online, including the hack of Sony Pictures. To read more about the pact and Kerry’s remarks, click here and here.

UPDATE ON CYBER POLICY:

–A consumer protection agency is urging the courts to secure tens of millions of consumers’ personal data as RadioShack goes through bankruptcy. The Federal Trade Commission on Monday recommended that Standard General, which purchased the electronics retailer, be bound to the terms that were in place when consumers initially handed over their data. While retailers are collecting more data than ever on their shoppers, what happens to that data when a company goes out of business is not entirely clear. To read more, click here.

RESEARCH IN FOCUS:

–DO IT FOR SCIENCE. The Tor Project has put out a call to users of the online anonymity software to see if any would join a study about how Tor affects creativity. Drexel University is behind the study, which aims to see how using Tor affects writing online: blog posts, Wikipedia edits, contributions to open source hubs, news article comments (our favorite), Tweets, and many, many more. “By understanding the contributions that Tor users make, we can help make a case for the value of anonymity online,” said associate professor Rachel Greenstadt, an investigator on the study.

A LOOK AHEAD:

TUESDAY:

–The House Financial Services Committee’s Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee will hold a hearing on cyber threats and the financial sector.

WEDNESDAY:

–Microsoft will hold a discussion on the Internet of Things, with remarks from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

–Georgetown Law School will host the first day of its cybersecurity conference, including a keynote address from FBI Director James Comey.

–The Financial Service Roundtable will hold an event on cyber information sharing.

–The Heritage Foundation will hold a discussion about cybersecurity regulation at noon.

THURSDAY:

–Georgetown Law School will continue its cybersecurity conference, including a speech from NSA Director Mike Rogers.

–The Chamber of Commerce will hold an event on the Internet of Things.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

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

Digital rights groups are accusing Facebook’s Internet.org of promoting an insecure Web for developing countries. (The Hill)

Chris Roberts’ story has highlighted the vulnerabilities of airplane’s networks. (Bloomberg)

Opinion: The U.S. should focus on cybersecurity defense and establishing peaceful norms online before it thinks about cyber offense. (Christian Science Monitor)

Opinion: Organizations can’t give up on cyber defense. (Dark Reading)

The St. Louis Federal Reserve experienced a DNS breach in late April. (Krebs on Security)

Chris Christie is calling Edward Snowden a “criminal” and criticizing libertarians with concerns about NSA surveillance. (NextGov)

Make no mistake: ransomware causes massive distress. (CSO)

The Chinese deep Web is taking a darker turn. (Motherboard)

The U.K. government quietly amended anti-hacking laws to permit hacking by the GCHQ. (Privacy International)

FireEye and ACE Group announced a strategic alliance to help clients combat cyber risk. (Digital Journal)

Russian authorities are planning to create a mobile operating system to challenge iOS and Android. (The Guardian)

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