OVERNIGHT TECH: Military may respond to cyberattacks with force

THE LEDE: A Pentagon spokesman confirmed to Hillicon on Tuesday that the military could respond to an attack on its networks with a physical show of force. The Defense Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace is being finalized and should be unveiled June 7.

“The response to a cyber incident or attack on the U.S. would not necessarily be a cyber response; all appropriate options would be on the table, as they would for a response to a kinetic attack,” the spokesman said, also pointing to portions of the White House’s recently released international strategy for cybersecurity that state the U.S. will respond to cyberattacks the same way as any other threat to the country.

AT&T/T-Mobile comments pour in

Supporters and opponents of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion
acquisition of T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom weighed in on Monday
ahead of the deadline for initial comments at the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC). An array of groups have lined up on each side, from
front groups funded by the dominant players to independent voices whose
opinions could be persuasive in the review process. 

Microsoft, for example, filed in favor of the merger in
what could be a crucial counterargument to concerns the merger will
harm the tech industry. Labor groups filed in support of the merger
thanks to AT&T’s unionized workforce, as did the environmental group Sierra Club.

Meanwhile, the leading opponents
included public interest groups, regional carriers and Sprint, the
third-largest wireless provider. The opponents argue the deal could lead
to higher prices by
eliminating a low-cost competitor.

Upton, Walden want Fairness Doctrine off the FCC’s books: The leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on
Tuesday asking him to strike the Fairness Doctrine from the agency’s
rulebook. The controversial rule, introduced in 1949, required
broadcasters to present controversial public issues in a manner deemed
fair and balanced by the FCC. 

The commission concluded in 1987 that the
Fairness Doctrine was unconstitutional and pledged to cease enforcing
it. Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) want Genachowski to ensure the rule is never revived, citing President Obama’s executive order to remove outdated regulations.

WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS CYBER PLAN

The White House is pushing back against reported criticism of its
cybersecurity plan by a prominent business lobbying group. The White House crafted its legislation in hopes of garnering bipartisan and industry support, but a recent Wall Street Journal report cited a draft of an internal document from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that labeled the White House plan “regulatory overreach.”

The White House is standing behind its legislative recommendations:

“Our proposal strikes a critical balance between strengthening security, preserving privacy and civil-liberties protections and fostering continued economic growth,” said White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro.

“The Chamber’s draft document certainly misinterprets some of the administration’s thinking, and we are confident that those misinterpretations will be fixed as we continue ongoing conversations with the Chamber on this important issue,” Shapiro added.

Zittrain joins the FCC: Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain has been named distinguished scholar at the FCC by Chairman Julius Genachowski. The author of “The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It” is considered one of the foremost experts on Internet policy and cybersecurity.

Notably, Zittrain’s Twitter account recently linked to a white paper opposing the domain name blocking provision in the PROTECT IP Act, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month. The Obama administration has consistently pushed to expand the government’s authority to seize domains and prosecute copyright infringement on the Web.

House GOP says mobile broadband creates jobs: House Republicans, who have hardly been unified in their views on
spectrum policy, strongly backed the notion that freeing up airwaves will
create jobs, doing so in a staff memo circulated ahead of a House Energy and
Commerce subcommittee hearing Wednesday. The memo cites the large sums wireless companies have invested in
infrastructure, placing the figure at $310 billion over the last 25
years. The administration and the FCC see incentive spectrum
auctions — in which TV broadcasters are offered money to give up their
airwaves — as an important lever for promoting mobile broadband.

Commerce secretary backs House patent reform bill: The Commerce Department on Tuesday expressed support for the patent
reform bill pending in the House, indicating the legislation is likely
to become law in the near future. The America Invents Act passed
the House Judiciary Committee last month and is similar to a bill that
passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support in March. With support on both sides of the aisle and in the White House, a bill
could reach Obama’s desk as soon as next month.

ICYMI:

Lockheed Martin acknowledged over the weekend that it suffered a significant cyber breach on May 21.

Apple’s Steve Jobs will unveil the firm’s latest software offerings on June 6 at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Cellphone radiation may cause cancer in humans, according to the World Health Organization.

The Space Shuttle Endeavor is scheduled to land Wednesday after its final 16-day mission to the International Space Station.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) is getting tired of the questions about “Weinergate.”