Deepfakes –mostly falsified videos and images combining the terms “deep learning” and “fake” – weren’t limited in 2019 to the Nixon presentation and were not uncommon before that. But today they are more numerous and realistic-looking and, most important, increasingly dangerous. And there is no better example of that than the warning this month (March 2021) by the FBI that nation-states are virtually certain to use deepfakes to help propagate increasingly misleading campaigns in the U.S. in coming weeks.
Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) introduced the Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act, legislation that would create a national data privacy standard to protect personal information.
As the cybersecurity community slowly recovers from the SolarWinds Orion breach, we speak to Michael Bahar, a leader in cybersecurity and privacy, about the aftermath of this attack. Bahar is a partner in the Washington D.C. office of Eversheds Sutherland (U.S.) LLP, and the firm’s Litigation practice. He was Deputy Legal Advisor to the National Security Council at the White House, former Minority Staff Director and General Counsel for the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, and a former Active Duty Navy JAG.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is tracking a known compromise involving SolarWinds Orion products that are currently being exploited by a malicious actor. An advanced persistent threat (APT) actor is responsible for compromising the SolarWinds Orion software supply chain, as well as widespread abuse of commonly used authentication mechanisms. If left unchecked, this threat actor has the resources, patience, and expertise to resist eviction from compromised networks and continue to hold affected organizations at risk, says CISA.
Lynchburg, Virginia Circuit Court Judge Patrick Yeatts has largely upheld Virginia’s new law requiring a background check on all gun sales, but has issued a limited, narrow injunction, which Attorney General Mark R. Herring intends to appeal, temporarily blocking the law from applying to handgun purchases made by 18-20 year olds.
In a Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 report filed with Congress last week, the White House says the number of cybersecurity incidents recorded at US federal agencies in 2019 went down by 8 percent.
Vice President Mike Pence, Congressman John Joyce (R-PA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Assistant Director Brian Harrell joined several faith-based community leaders for a Faith-Based Safety and Security Symposium at the White House.
