The forthcoming Cybersecurity Framework being developed by critical infrastructure industries and the National Institute of Standards and Technology “complements, and does not replace, an organization’s existing business or cybersecurity risk management process and cybersecurity program,” said a discussion draft of the framework NIST released Wednesday night. The framework is instead meant to help an organization leverage its existing cybersecurity processes and identify areas to improve risk management, although organizations that lack a cybersecurity program can use the framework as a “reference when establishing one,” NIST said in the draft (http://1.usa.gov/154Zjp9).
Outgoing Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said Tuesday that her successor will need to continue tackling cybersecurity issues, because the U.S. “will, at some point, face a major cyber event that will have a serious effect on our lives, our economy, and the everyday functioning of our society.” Although the Department of Homeland Security has “built systems, protections and a framework to identify attacks and intrusions, share information with the private sector and across government, and develop plans and capabilities to mitigate the damage, more must be done, and quickly,” Napolitano said in a speech at the National Press Club. Napolitano is resigning in late September to become president of the University of California system (WID July 15 p1). President Barack Obama has not yet named his nominee to take over permanently for Napolitano. Experts told us that whoever replaces Napolitano will set the course for the agency’s involvement in cybersecurity issues.
Outgoing Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said Tuesday that her successor will need to continue tackling cybersecurity issues, because the U.S. “will, at some point, face a major cyber event that will have a serious effect on our lives, our economy, and the everyday functioning of our society.” Although the Department of Homeland Security has “built systems, protections and a framework to identify attacks and intrusions, share information with the private sector and across government, and develop plans and capabilities to mitigate the damage, more must be done, and quickly,” Napolitano said in a speech at the National Press Club. Napolitano is resigning in late September to become president of the University of California system (CD July 15 p4). President Barack Obama has not yet named his nominee to take over permanently for Napolitano. Experts told us that whoever replaces Napolitano will set the course for the agency’s involvement in cybersecurity issues.
The White House has until early October to decide whether to veto a U.S. International Trade Commission exclusion order that would ban the import of certain Samsung mobile devices because they violated two Apple patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 7,479,949 and 7,912,501 (WID Aug 15 p9). The exclusion order against Samsung is the latest episode in a years-long series of legal battles at the ITC and federal courts between the top smartphone manufacturers as each seeks to gain market share. Patent attorneys and industry experts told us court-ordered sales bans typically have only a limited effect on the wireless carriers that have deals with the manufacturers to provide mobile devices to their subscribers.
The White House has until early October to decide whether to veto a U.S. International Trade Commission exclusion order that would ban the import of certain Samsung mobile devices because they violated two Apple patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 7,479,949 and 7,912,501 (CD Aug 15 p10). The exclusion order against Samsung is the latest episode in a yearslong series of legal battles at the ITC and federal courts between the top smartphone manufacturers as each seeks to gain market share. Patent attorneys and industry experts told us court-ordered sales bans typically have only a limited effect on the wireless carriers that have deals with the manufacturers to provide mobile devices to their subscribers.
The White House has until early October to decide whether to veto a U.S. International Trade Commission exclusion order that would ban the import of certain Samsung mobile devices because they violated two Apple patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 7,479,949 and 7,912,501 (CED Aug 15 p4).
A coalition of advocacy and consumer groups for deaf and blind persons opposed multiple provisions of the FCC’s June order that would institute changes to the Video Relay Service (VRS) program, saying in comments released Tuesday that the order “may cause harm to the quality of VRS” (http://bit.ly/12mKIrd). The VRS order would reduce compensation rates to various-sized providers and created interoperability provisions to give users power to more easily choose providers and equipment (CD June 11 p1). The groups said they believe there has been “no effort on the part of the Commission to compensate or reward providers for improving functional equivalency in VRS calls. The Commission needs to reward such competition-driven innovation even during any efforts to improve the efficiency of the VRS system.”
A coalition of advocacy and consumer groups for deaf and blind persons opposed multiple provisions of the FCC’s June order that would institute changes to the Video Relay Service (VRS) program, saying in comments released Tuesday that the order “may cause harm to the quality of VRS” (http://bit.ly/12mKIrd). The VRS order would reduce compensation rates to various-sized providers and created interoperability provisions to give users power to more easily choose providers and equipment. The groups said they believe there has been “no effort on the part of the Commission to compensate or reward providers for improving functional equivalency in VRS calls. The Commission needs to reward such competition-driven innovation even during any efforts to improve the efficiency of the VRS system.” The consumer groups coalition said they support overhaul of Internet-based telecommunications relay services (TRS), including decreasing the permissible wait time on Internet-based TRS services to 10 seconds. The groups support a provision in the VRS order that would allow a quarterly review of TRS Fund contribution, since that would “allow for flexibility in addressing increases or decreases in requests for reimbursement and projections of service requirements from TRS providers.” Sprint urged the FCC to consider ways to reform other forms of TRS as it did in the VRS order. The FCC’s goal of making VRS “an effective, efficient, and sustainable program for the future” applies to all forms of TRS, including IP Relay and IP Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS), Sprint said. It urged the FCC to “consider the unique characteristics of each service and user population in determining whether a particular regulation is appropriate for a particular form of TRS,” rather than applying direct copies of the VRS rules to other TRS forms. The FCC should designate separate sections of TRS rules for each service, and avoid “overly-broad blanket regulations” by ensuring that additional rules for Internet-based TRS forms are “tailored to address demonstrated needs,” Sprint said. The FCC should not extend registration and TRS User Registration Database requirements to IP Relay and IP CTS providers, as well as exclude IP CTS from the “national outreach regime” adopted for VRS and IP Relay, the telco said. The FCC should apply non-discrimination principles to all Internet-based TRS services, Sprint said. The FCC should establish “clear guidelines” regarding data providers submit to the TRS Fund administrator, it said (http://bit.ly/12mJ60s).
The U.S. International Trade Commission issued an injunction after our deadline Friday on Samsung mobile devices that violated two Apple patents. The full details of the ban, which will take place within 60 days of Friday’s ruling, were not yet available. The ITC vote followed a hearing earlier Friday at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. There, Apple told a three-judge panel that upholding a lower court’s decision not to ban 26 Samsung mobile devices a San Jose federal jury found last year violated six Apple patents would be a “fundamental change” to U.S. patent law. Apple also faced a hearing at the U.S. District Court, Manhattan, in connection with the ruling last month that Apple violated antitrust laws by conspiring with publishers to “eliminate retail competition and raise the prices for e-books."
The U.S. International Trade Commission issued an injunction after our deadline Friday on Samsung mobile devices that violated two Apple patents. The full details of the ban, which will take place within 60 days of Friday’s ruling, were not yet available. The ITC vote followed a hearing earlier Friday at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. There, Apple told a three-judge panel that upholding a lower court’s decision not to ban 26 Samsung mobile devices a San Jose federal jury found last year violated six Apple patents would be a “fundamental change” to U.S. patent law. Apple also faced a hearing at the U.S. District Court, Manhattan, in connection with the ruling last month that Apple violated antitrust laws by conspiring with publishers to “eliminate retail competition and raise the prices for e-books.” (See separate report in this issue.)