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U.S. data privacy and security solutions emerging at the…

The American Data Privacy and Protection Act bill faces a tough battle for passage, but the Biden administration is considering actions of its own.

Although a handful of U.S. states have enacted strict privacy laws, the United States still lacks a comprehensive federal privacy statute, a vacuum that has fueled what many observers argue is a culture of “surveillance capitalism.” The lack of a national privacy law looms particularly large now as the Supreme Court seems poised to overturn its landmark abortion decision Roe v. Wade, which is likely to accelerate private data hunting expeditions by prosecutors and law enforcement in nearly 30 U.S. states.

Absent a federal privacy law that would protect the location data of abortion seekers, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced a bill that would essentially outlaw the sale of location data harvested from smartphones. However, the U.S. Congress and the Biden administration have recently taken surprising steps to tackle the problem of data privacy on a national basis through legislation, policy and regulatory measures that seek to stem the escalation of privacy-invading practices and technologies.

This article appeared in CSO Online. To read the rest of the article please visit here.

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Space-based assets aren’t immune to cyberattacks

Russia’s attack on Viasat satellites exposed how vulnerable space-based assets are and the potential for spillover damage.

One of the most significant cybersecurity incidents related to Russia’s war on Ukraine was a “multi-faceted” attack against satellite provider Viasat’s KA-SAT network on February 24, one hour before Russia’s invasion began. The assault, which both Ukraine and Western intelligence authorities attribute to Russia, was intended to degrade the Ukrainian national command and control.

However, the attack, which was localized to a single consumer KA-SAT network operated on Viasat’s behalf by another satellite company, a Eutelsat subsidiary called Skylogic, disrupted broadband service to several thousand Ukrainian customers and tens of thousands of other fixed broadband customers across Europe. It also highlighted how space-based assets, such as satellites are as vulnerable to malicious exploitation as any other piece of critical infrastructure.

Against this backdrop, the timing was perfect for the Space Cybersecurity Symposium III hosted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) last week. “The multi-faceted and deliberate cyberattacks which took place during the invasion highlight the need for the United States Government to work with our international partners as well as the private sector to strengthen cyber resilience of existing and future space systems,” said Richard DalBello, director, U.S. Office of Space Commerce, National Oceanic, and Atmospheric Administration, said in kicking off the summit.

This article appeared in CSO Online. To read the rest of the article please visit here.

Image by TheoLeo from Pixabay