Ukraine’s Cyber-War Shows Us the Future

July 26, 2022 | Geoff Cain

This piece was originally published on Substack. A 19-year-old computer hacker invited me into his home in Lviv, Ukraine, ready to show off his weaponry: three large monitors from which he coordinated cyber-attacks into Russia’s increasingly closed-off internet. It was March 2022, and he wanted to strike back at Russia’s opening missile salvos. But he
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Testimony of Dan Lips to the U.S. House of Representatives, Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee

May 19, 2022 | Dan Lips

Click here to download a full PDF of the testimony. Chairman Ryan, Ranking Member Herrera-Beautler, and Members of the Subcommittee: My name is Dan Lips. I am Head of Policy at Lincoln Network. I respectfully urge thesubcommittee to fully fund the Comptroller General’s budget request of $810 million for theU.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) for
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A bipartisan bill to strengthen state and local technology governance

May 11, 2022 | Dan Lips

From cyber attacks to overseeing hundreds of billions in federal spending, state and local governments face growing technology challenges. A new bipartisan Senate bill would reform a half-century-old law to allow federal agencies to provide technology assistance to state and local partners and encourage greater cooperation between government agencies. Under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968,
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Congress Is Warning That the Federal Government Remains Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

September 14, 2021 | Dan Lips

Over the past year, Russia and the People’s Republic of China conducted successful cyber espionage campaigns against federal agencies, compromising some of the United States’ most sensitive information. The American public may wonder why federal networks remain vulnerable to serious data breaches despite the government spending billions on cybersecurity programs. But new reports from key
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How Congress and NIST Can Help Organizations Better Manage Cyber Risk

September 14, 2021 | Dan Lips

On Aug. 25, the Biden administration announced a new public-private initiative to improve the nation’s cybersecurity. The White House directed the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to partner with industry and other stakeholders to develop a new framework to “improve the security and integrity of the technology supply chain.”  The White House’s announcement
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Cost-Effective Policy Options to Help States Manage Growing Cybersecurity Risks

June 28, 2021 | Dan Lips

State and local governments are facing growing cyber threats. From ransomware attacks to data breaches, local governments are on the frontlines of the global cyber conflict that remains a top national security threat, according to the Director of National Intelligence.  Like all organizations, state and local governments have limited resources to manage cybersecurity risks. Nationally,
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Is Mandated Sideloading the Answer to App Store Deplatforming?

February 24, 2021 | Zach Graves

Smartphone app store policies have come into focus recently, following a series of recent conflicts between app makers and app store operators (principally Apple and Google). These include the removal of conservative-oriented social media platforms Parler and Gab, and the ensuing debate about balancing free speech and harmful content. There have also been numerous conflicts
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Rethinking the Future of US Cybersecurity After the Latest Data Breach

December 16, 2020 | Dan Lips

5 Questions National Policymakers Should Be Asking  This week, IT-firm SolarWinds announced that it had likely suffered “a highly sophisticated, targeted and manual supply chain attack by an outside nation state,” which put the information systems of 18,000 of its customers, including federal agencies, at risk. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at DHS issued
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Why Congress and Federal Agencies Must Improve State and Local Governments’ Cybersecurity Risk Management

December 16, 2020 | Dan Lips

Click here to download a PDF version of the paper. State and local governments have purchased commercial off-the-shelf technologies with known vulnerabilities that federal agencies have banned. Five years after Congress passed bipartisan legislation to strengthen information sharing between the federal government and its partners, federal agencies could do more to support state and local
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Listen to the Intelligence Community’s Warnings Ahead of the Election

November 2, 2020 | Dan Lips

Voting is one the most important civic responsibilities in the United States. In 2020, being a responsible voter also involves understanding the rules of the election, the threat foreign interference, and reporting potential wrongdoing to the appropriate authorities if necessary. FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe recently held a press
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Boost state government cyber defenses by streamlining federal rules

April 28, 2020 | Dan Lips

Harmonizing cybersecurity regulations imposed on state governments was a good idea before the pandemic. Now, it should be a top priority to help states address current challenges and defend the 2020 election. State governments are facing unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic. While saving lives and addressing urgent public health needs remains the focus, state
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Video: GDPR 2 Years Later

April 27, 2020 | Alexiaa Jordan

Featuring: *Matthias Bauer, PhD, Senior Economist at the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) – will cover the interplay between Digital Services Taxes and GDPR *Philip Thompson, Policy Analyst with the Property Rights Alliance – will cover GDPR as a barrier to trade *Alexiaa Jordan, Policy Analyst with Lincoln Network – will cover CCPA and US privacy regimes as they relate to GDPR *Eline Chivot, Senior Policy Analyst at ITIF Center for Data Innovation – will cover the current status of GDPR and its effects 2 years later *Andreas Hellmann, International Advocacy Manager at Americans for Tax Reform Foundation *Katie McAuliffe, Executive Director, Digital Liberty – moderator
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Preparing for November’s election must be a national priority

March 31, 2020 | Dan Lips

This post was co-authored by Senior Internet Security Engineer, Sean Roberts. The coronavirus pandemic is testing our nation’s resolve and already disrupting our way of life. But we can’t afford to let it disrupt the November election. Six states have already postponed their primaries. More will likely follow in the weeks and months ahead. Read the rest
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States and Cities Could Use Billions of Unspent DHS Grants to #Protect2020

February 28, 2020 | Dan Lips

Federal and state officials recently told a Senate Committee that state and local governments need additional cybersecurity resources. Their testimony follows the gatherings of the nation’s state secretaries of state and election directors earlier this year in Washington, where cybersecurity and election integrity were a top focus. Congress is now considering legislation to create a
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Answering China’s Sharp Power

November 20, 2019 | Dan Lips

The Federal Communications Commission will soon consider a proposal to prevent U.S. companies from using Universal Service Fund dollars to purchase equipment or services from companies deemed to present a national security threat, including Huawei and ZTE Corporation.  Writing in the Wall Street Journal, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made the case for his proposal: “Thanks
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