Security News

US Senate: Govt’s ransomware fight hindered by limited reporting
2022-05-24 17:34

A report published today by U.S. Senator Gary Peters, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, says law enforcement and regulatory agencies lack insight into ransomware attacks to fight against them effectively. While ransomware incidents have been increasingly hitting organizations across the country, there's still room to improve reporting of both attacks and ransom payments which would provide the federal government with the data and information it needs to deter this severe threat to national security, Senator Peters added.

US Senate approves deepfake bill to defend against manipulated media
2020-11-19 20:35

On Wednesday, proposed US legislation to fund defenses against realistic computer-generated media known as deepfakes was approved by the US Senate and the bill now awaits consideration in the US House of Representatives. Introduced last year by US Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jerry Moran, the Identifying Outputs of Generative Adversarial Networks Act aims to promote research to detect and defend against realistic-looking fakery that can be used for purposes of deception, harassment, or misinformation.

US Senate Votes to Ban TikTok on Government Phones
2020-08-06 18:32

The US Senate voted Thursday to bar TikTok from being downloaded onto US government employees' telephones, intensifying US scrutiny of the popular Chinese-owned video app. President Donald Trump, who has locked horns with China on a range of issues including trade and the coronavirus pandemic, has set a deadline of mid-September for TikTok to be acquired by a US firm or be banned in the United States.

You may be distracted by the pandemic but FYI: US Senate panel OK's backdoors-by-the-backdoor EARN IT Act
2020-07-06 20:42

An amended version of America's controversial proposed EARN IT Act has been unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee - a key step in its journey to becoming law. Concerns over the law being used to force tech companies to introduce encryption backdoors led to an amendment [PDF], put forward by Senator Patrick Leahy, that stated online platforms won't face civil or criminal liability if they are unable to break end-to-end encryption in their own services.

US Senate Panel OKs Online Child Protection Bill Amid Privacy Fears
2020-07-03 13:10

A US Senate panel Thursday approved legislation aimed at combatting online child exploitation as civil liberties activists warned the measure could lead to an array of constitutional and privacy problems. The Judiciary Committee voted to approve a revised version of the Earn It Act which would eliminate "Blanket liability protection" for online platforms which fail to protect against child sexual abuse material.

US Senate passes anti-robocalling bill
2019-05-28 11:13

The TRACED Act was a slam dunk in the Senate, where it passed with an overwhelming 97-1 vote.

Lawmaker: US Senate, Staff Targeted by State-Backed Hackers
2018-09-20 03:59

Foreign government hackers continue to target the personal email accounts of U.S. senators and their aides — and the Senate’s security office has refused to defend them, a lawmaker says. read more

In Trump Rebuke, US Senate Votes to Reimpose Ban on China's ZTE
2018-06-19 01:27

The US Senate defied President Donald Trump by voting Monday to overrule his administration's deal with Chinese telecom firm ZTE and reimpose a ban on high-tech chip sales to the company. Senators...

US Senate votes to save net neutrality
2018-05-17 13:49

The US Senate has voted in favor of net neutrality by approving a Congressional Review Act resolution that would undo the Federal Communications Commission’s December decision to dismantle the...

Fancy Bear Targets US Senate, Security Researchers Warn
2018-01-15 14:03

DNC Hackers Target Lawmakers With Decoy Sites; Some Senators Demand ActionThe cyber espionage group that executed a campaign against the Democratic Party has been gearing up to attack the U.S....