Overnight Cybersecurity: Immunity deal intensifies Clinton email probe

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 try to counter the rise in cyber threats. 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:

–BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?: The immunity deal granted to a former Hillary Clinton staffer indicates the FBI’s investigation into her email practices is accelerating, former prosecutors say. The day after her Super Tuesday victories, a law enforcement official leaked that Bryan Pagliano, who helped set up Clinton’s personal server, has been granted immunity for the FBI’s investigation. Pagliano, a former information technology official with the State Department, is seen as a key figure in the investigation into whether Clinton illegally transmitted classified information over her private server. Clinton has consistently maintained no information that was classified at the time passed through her server, and a spokesperson immediately said that the campaign was “pleased” that Pagliano is cooperating with the FBI’s investigation. Still, the immunity deal adds to the appearance of possible misconduct in Clinton’s email practices — and created more uncertainty for her campaign. Security experts say Pagliano could know a great deal. “I think of him as Sammy ‘The Bull’ Gravano; he knows where the bodies are buried and he could bring down the whole organization,” said Morgan Wright, a cybersecurity consultant who has worked with tech companies like Cisco and Alcatel-Lucent, referencing the underling who helped bring down mob boss John Gotti. To read our full piece, click here.

{mosads}–LIKE BROTHERS IN ARMS: As expected, Apple got a wave of support from its tech industry cohorts on Thursday. Twitter, Airbnb and LinkedIn were among 17 technology companies that filed a brief in support of Apple in its court battle with the FBI over whether it should be required to create software meant to help the agency access secured data. The firms are among the boldface names from the industry backing Apple — with more briefs expected to be filed as the day goes on. “This extraordinary and unprecedented effort to compel a private company to become the government’s investigative arm not only has no legal basis under the All Writs Act or any other law, but threatens the core principles of privacy, security, and transparency that underlie the fabric of the Internet,” the companies said. At issue is whether Apple should create new software that would help the FBI unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters. The two parties are battling it out in federal court in a case that has become proxy fight for a larger debate over how tech companies should work with law enforcement to access secured data. The signatories to the brief also include Medium, Reddit, Square, eBay and Kickstarter, in addition to other firms. They join several technology trade groups in supporting Apple. Several digital rights groups also filed supporting briefs on Wednesday. To read our full piece, click here.

–NO IPHONES FOR YOU: Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) wants the government to have nothing to do with Apple products. Jolly, who is running for Senate in a crowded GOP primary, has introduced legislation to prohibit federal agencies from purchasing Apple merchandise until the company gives the FBI access to the encrypted device. “Taxpayers should not be subsidizing a company that refuses to cooperate in a terror investigation that left 14 Americans dead on American soil,” Jolly said in a Thursday statement. The legislation so far does not have any cosponsors. Jolly’s bill echoes a call from Donald Trump last month to boycott Apple until it agrees to assist the FBI. To read our full piece, click here.

UPDATE ON (OVERSEAS) CYBER POLICY:

–A HARBINGER? From The Guardian: “French parliamentary deputies, defying government wishes, have voted in favour of penalising smartphone makers which fail to cooperate in terrorism inquiries, entering a controversy that has pitted the FBI against Apple in the United States. The move came in the form of an amendment to a penal reform bill that was receiving its first reading in parliament.”

Read on, here.

LIGHTER CLICK:

–PINOT NOIR, CAVIAR, MYANMAR, MID-SIZED CAR. If you understand that, you’ll find this actual, available-for-purchase wine humorous.

–PERFECTION. This Instagram account features pictures of Meryl Streep photoshopped into different food items.

WHO’S IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

–LUKE DEMBOSKY. The highest-ranking official at the DOJ focused primarily on cyber investigations and prosecutions will join Debevoise Plimpton LLP’s cybersecurity and data privacy practice as a partner in its D.C. office.

Dembosky is currently the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security in the agency’s national security division.

A FEATURE IN FOCUS:

–YOU HAD ONE JOB, PHIL. FBI Director James Comey was asked directly during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday if the bureau had tried to get help from “agencies such as the NSA” to unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone.

“Yes is the answer,” he said. “We’ve talked to anybody who will talk to us about it.”

But his reply has raised more questions than it answered. What did the NSA say? Why couldn’t it — or didn’t it — help?

The Intercept investigates a few possibilities.

Read on, here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

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

Federal regulators on Thursday sent a major signal to financial technology companies, settling charges against an online payment firm for deceiving customers about data security. (The Hill)

Cox Communications is investigating a possible breach exposing the personal information of 40,000 of its employees. (The Hill)

A digital rights advocacy group is arguing that the warrant used by the FBI to hack a child pornography site on the dark Web was unconstitutional. (Motherboard)

The spouses of former and current users of the hacked Ashley Madison site are being targeted by blackmail attempts. (The Guardian)

British businesses are showing a worrying reluctance to report cyberattacks and need to “get real” about the dangers, a new report from the Institute of Directors corporate-governance group warns. (The Wall Street Journal)

Finnish data security company F-Secure is seeking to grow in the European cyber security market with the help of acquisitions, its chief executive said. (Reuters)

Rappers in China and Taiwan are among the combatants squaring off in cyberspace after a landslide election win for the island’s independence-leaning party fanned Beijing’s fears that it could renew a push for sovereignty.

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