Cyber is in the air (all week)

Sep 16, 2024

Driving the day

— From POLITICO to the Hill, the cyber scene is heating up as Election Day looms.

IT’S MONDAY, and welcome to MORNING CYBERSECURITY! The one scam I can’t figure out is when someone wants to buy your stuff on Facebook marketplace but they’re using a fake profile and aren’t even in the same country. How does pretending to want to buy my used dog carrier further your agenda??

Have any tips or secrets to share with MC? Or thoughts on what we should be covering? Find me on X at @JGedeon1 or email me at jgedeon@politico.com. You can also follow @POLITICOPro and @MorningCybersec on X. Full team contact info is below.

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Today's Agenda

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is giving the keynote at the 2024 Air, Space and Cyber Conference on the age of growing threats. Starts at 9 a.m.

CISA Director Jen Easterly and senior adviser for election security Cait Conley are holding a discussion on supporting state and local election officials. 1 p.m.

TUESDAY: POLITICO’s AI & TECH SUMMIT: American Leadership, Security and Democracy — Join us on Sept. 17, from 12 p.m. ET, for exclusive conversations on U.S. global competitiveness, election security, AI rulemaking, TikTok-era campaigning and what policies to expect from Harris or Trump administrations. Keynote guests include Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Congress’ AI rule-writers Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Biden’s chief science and tech adviser and former DARPA director Arati Prabhakar, philanthropist Frank McCourt, CISA’s election security adviser Cait Conley, Scale AI’s Michael Kratsios and TargetSmart CEO Lindsey Schuh Cortes. More speaker announcements to come. RSVP required to attend or watch here.

THE CONFERENCE CIRCUIT

A BUSY WEEK — Washington has shaken off its summer slumber and the federal cyber scene is now finding itself caught in a whirlwind of pumpkin spiced politicking. Here’s our guide for the next few days.

— Come for the AI, stay for the cyber: POLITICO’s AI Summit is an all-day affair set for Tuesday, and it’s being seasoned gratuitously with cybersecurity policy. That’s because elections are in the air.

Our own Maggie is sitting with CISA senior adviser Cait Conley to dissect the agency’s preelection cyber efforts. Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco is set to give our editor Heidi the lowdown on the Department of Justice’s strategy to combat both foreign and domestic AI-powered election interference efforts.

Expect questions and security assessments on the top threats hitting the presidential race, the extent to which disinformation is breaking through the public sphere and what leverage the government has to stop things in its tracks.

— Five Eyes see lies: The Aspen Cyber Summit kicks off a jam-packed Wednesday with some of the Biden administration’s biggest drivers of cybersecurity, national security policy and diplomacy.

We’ll be watching intel leaders from the world’s Five Eyes alliance take the stage in the morning for their Washington debut. Look for the panel of cyber leaders from the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to dig into the global cyber threat landscape, new adversary tactics and procedures — especially those linked to geopolitical conflicts and this year’s global elections.

FBI Director Christopher Wray, National Cyber Director Harry Coker and U.S. Cyber Ambassador Nate Fick are all slated to appear at Aspen, with Microsoft's Brad Smith joining Fick for a chat on public-private cyber collaboration.

— Head to the Hill: Also on Wednesday and (probably) to less fanfare are a flurry of cyber hearings and markups in the Senate.

On the markup schedule for the morning is Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chair Gary Peters’ (D-Mich.) and James Lankford’s (R-Okla.) bill looking to establish an interagency committee led by the ONCD to coordinate and streamline cyber requirements across federal agencies. It’s already gotten full backing from the White House, particularly from ONCD chief Coker.

In the afternoon, the Senate Intelligence committee is holding a blockbuster hearing on the role of tech providers in 2024 foreign election threats. Alphabet president for global affairs Kent Walker, Microsoft president Brad Smith and Meta president for global affairs Nick Clegg are all facing the committee.

— Feeling the Solarium: Capping off the week, Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) heads to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies on Thursday to deliver a state-of-play on America's cyber resilience. As co-chair of CSC 2.0, King's words could offer a glimpse into the Hill's future cyber policy directions.

Election Security

PILLOW TALK — Mike Lindell's "Election Crime Bureau" is emailing local election officials, requesting personal data and information about cybersecurity measures, according to emails obtained by Rolling Stone and American Doom.

— The ask: The group is soliciting personal information and details on election security measures, including specifics about monitoring systems developed by the nonprofit Center for Internet Security, blurring the line between grassroots oversight and potential data harvesting.

— By the numbers: The campaign claims to be investigating all 3,143 U.S. counties, framing the request as part of a nationwide security review. It’s an ambitious scope that could yield a significant dataset, if successful.

— Red flags raised: CIS has issued an advisory warning about these emails, recommending that election officials avoid clicking links or responding. The organization notes the emails could be mistaken for official CIS communications.

The campaign represents a shift in tactics for election denial advocates, moving from public rallies to direct outreach to officials. And it highlights the challenge election officials face in distinguishing legitimate inquiries from potential threats.

In the Courts

TIKTOK’S DAY IN COURT — Oral arguments kick off today in the high-stakes court fight between the U.S. government and TikTok. If the law passed by Congress earlier this year is found legal, it would force a ban or sale of the popular video-sharing app, targeted for its links to China.

A trio of jurists — Obama appointee Sri Srinivasan, Trump appointee Neomi Rao, and Reagan appointee Douglas Ginsburg — will decide the case. The DOJ will defend national security concerns, while TikTok’s lawyers will argue the suppression of free speech. Both camps are eyeing a Dec. 6 ruling.

— Political pivot: Despite the legal heat, TikTok's political clout is surging. There are over 110 million American users on the platform, and both the Trump and Harris campaigns are using the app to woo voters, seemingly unfazed by broader anti-China tech sentiment.

— Not sitting idle: The platform recently unveiled a slew of measures to combat 2024 election fraud and disinformation earlier this month. And TikTok is throwing serious cash at the problem, earmarking a cool $2 billion for trust and safety initiatives this year.

— New rules of engagement: Politicians and government accounts will now need two-factor authentication and the platform is beefing up its U.S. Election Center. TikTok said it is also assembling an independent expert board on election integrity and partnering with the Associated Press for results reporting.

— Crystal ball cloudy: Don't expect tea leaves to read easily after today's arguments. The government's hush-hush security claims add an extra layer of opacity to an already complex case.

Read Christine Mui’s report for POLITICO for more.

The International Scene

UN’S AI PLAYBOOK — The United Nations' AI advisory body is set to unveil a landmark report on artificial intelligence governance this Thursday, coinciding with the UN General Assembly in New York.

This report is a culmination of a year of work featuring 38 international policy experts and aims to redefine the global approach to AI development and deployment, with wide-ranging implications for cybersecurity and international cooperation.

— What’s inside: In a nutshell, the report will identify gaps in current AI governance frameworks, propose institutional mechanisms to address those gaps and outline best practices for private sector and civil society involvement. Watch for specific details to roll out on Thursday.

— Key player speaks: Vilas Dhar, president of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and an appointed member to the UN advisory body, argues for broader societal engagement in AI policy, warning against leaving governance solely to tech giants and regulators.

“The report will come to essentially describe why there is a case for global AI governance by recognizing the kind of gaps that exist in the current framework,” Dhar tells MC.

Tweet of the Weekend

You will never be able to find a more 90s movie. I dare you to try.

Quick Bytes

DISINFORMATION DILEMMA — Your newsletter host did a Q&A with PEN America’s Mina Haq on election disinformation, how AI is making things better (and worse) and our reporting over the last year. Check it out here.

SEATTLE ATTACK DETAILS — The Port of Seattle was hit by a ransomware attack on Aug.24, leading to system outages and data theft. The group Rhysida claimed responsibility and threatened to release stolen data if a ransom isn't paid, reports Anthony Ha for TechCrunch.

“FBI tells public to ignore false claims of hacked voter data” (BleepingComputer)

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