Hillicon Valley — Presented by Nokia — US partners with Spain in fighting cyberattacks
Today is Monday. Welcome to Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Subscribe here: digital-staging.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.
Follow The Hill’s tech team, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@millsrodrigo) and Rebecca Klar (@rebeccaklar_), and cyber reporter Ines Kagubare (@ineskagubare) for more coverage.
The U.S. and Spain are partnering to counter cyberattacks amid Russia’s invasion into Ukraine.
Meanwhile, tech companies continue to take action against Russia and offer aid to Ukraine. Google said it would be opening its office space in Poland for refugees, and Netflix said it would halt its service in Russia.
Let’s jump into the news.
US, Spain join forces on cyber front
The U.S. is partnering up with fellow NATO member Spain to fight cyberattacks in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Monday that this is a critical moment for the U.S. and its allies to strengthen its cyber defenses and assist countries like Ukraine that have fallen victims to Russian aggression, including cyberattacks.
“For anyone who may have been skeptical that cyber and tech issues are not major foreign policy issues for the 21st century, we need only to look at Ukraine and Russia right now,” she said.
Sherman made her remarks at the first Spain-U.S. cybersecurity seminar, which was held in Madrid.
Google offers office space for refugees
Google is opening its office space in Poland to organizations supporting Ukrainian refugees, the company announced Monday.
The Silicon Valley giant will offer its Startup Campus in Warsaw as a space for local nongovernmental organizations to provide refugees with legal and psychological services, according to Google’s announcement.
Google said it would use the space to support refugees as part of its announcement that it will invest nearly $700 million to purchase and further develop the Warsaw HUB office. The tech company has been a tenant in the complex since 2021.
“As the needs of those affected by the war change, we will be looking at other ways in which we can help,” Google said in a press release, according to CNBC.
NETFLIX HALTS SERVICE IN RUSSIA
Netflix suspended its service in Russia on Sunday, becoming the latest tech company to halt or restrict its offerings in Russia amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” a Netflix spokesperson said.
TikTok announced earlier in the day that it was blocking users in Russia from posting videos on the platform.
This announcement from Netflix comes less than a week after the streaming company said it was pausing “all future projects and acquisitions from Russia while we assess the impact of the current events.”
MORE SPACEX STATIONS FOR UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine will be receiving more Starlink satellite internet stations for “destroyed cities” after he spoke with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
“Talked to @elonmusk. I’m grateful to him for supporting Ukraine with words and deeds. Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities,” Zelensky tweeted Saturday.
“Discussed possible space projects . But I’ll talk about this after the war,” he added.
This comes after Musk last week said SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service had been activated in Ukraine amid reports of internet outages in parts of the country.
BITS AND PIECES
An op-ed to chew on: Can SpaceX save NASA’s International Space Station?
Lighter click: saved by the bot
Notable links from around the web:
Poor tech, opaque rules, exhausted staff: inside the private company surveilling US immigrants (The Guardian / Johana Bhuiyan)
A Pastor’s Legal Fight Against CBP Exposes a Reckless Surveillance Operation (The Intercept / Ryan Devereaux)
How A Texas Town Buried In Debt Embraced A Crypto Miner It Didn’t Want (BuzzFeed News / Sarah Emerson)
Amazon suppliers linked to forced labor in China, watchdog group says (NBC News / Louise Matsakis)
One last thing: Russia weighing risks
Although the United States is bracing for retaliatory Russian cyberattacks, experts in the field say the Kremlin is likely still weighing whether destructive action in cyberspace is worth the blowback.
Russia has shown cyber restraint, at least for the moment, even as the West imposes sanctions that have quickly strangled its economy and targeted government leaders and oligarchs.
“The question is not ‘can Russia carry out cyberattacks against Europe or the United States,’ ” said Melissa Griffith, a senior program associate with the science and technology innovation program at The Wilson Center.
“The question is ‘what would Russia have to gain from and what would they risk by carrying out cyberattacks against the United States and Europe.’ ”
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s technology and cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you Tuesday.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..
