The White House and the Department of Homeland Security highlighted their efforts to advance efforts to improve cybersecurity Wednesday. The U.S. is “light-years ahead of where we were 18 months ago” in advancing the national conversation on cybersecurity, said White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel at a Bloomberg Government event. The White House has been working with federal agencies since February to implement President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order. As part of that implementation effort, the National Institute of Standards and Technology released a preliminary version of the Cybersecurity Framework last week (CD Oct 23 p1). Daniel lauded the framework Wednesday as a “remarkable example of true public-private partnership.” Agencies’ budgets also show the degree to which the White House is making cybersecurity a big priority, he said, noting that the administration’s cyber efforts are as well protected as its other priorities given the strains of sequestration. The White House is also continuing to encourage Congress to pass information-sharing legislation that would improve the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, Daniel said. The order will “help bring clarity to the specific kinds of information-sharing that we need,” said Suzanne Spaulding, DHS deputy undersecretary-National Protection and Programs Directorate. DHS is the primary department responsible for implementing the order. DHS is doing “everything we can to help public and private sector make wise risk management decisions,” she said.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security highlighted their efforts to advance efforts to improve cybersecurity Wednesday. The U.S. is “light-years ahead of where we were 18 months ago” in advancing the national conversation on cybersecurity, said White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel at a Bloomberg Government event. The White House has been working with federal agencies since February to implement President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order. As part of that implementation effort, the National Institute of Standards and Technology released a preliminary version of the Cybersecurity Framework last week (WID Oct 23 p2). Daniel lauded the framework Wednesday as a “remarkable example of true public-private partnership.” Agencies’ budgets also show the degree to which the White House is making cybersecurity a big priority, he said, noting that the administration’s cyber efforts are as well protected as its other priorities given the strains of sequestration. The White House is also continuing to encourage Congress to pass information-sharing legislation that would improve the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, Daniel said. The order will “help bring clarity to the specific kinds of information-sharing that we need,” said Suzanne Spaulding, DHS deputy undersecretary-National Protection and Programs Directorate. DHS is the primary department responsible for implementing the order. DHS is doing “everything we can to help public and private sector make wise risk management decisions,” she said.
The incipient Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations must secure all inclusive tariff elimination between the U.S. and European Union (EU) in a final pact, while making inroads towards regulatory harmonization, Senate and industry leaders on Oct. 30 told a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the trade pact (here). Should the U.S. and EU broker comprehensive tariff elimination, the deal could boost U.S. exports to the EU by a third, adding $100 billion annually in U.S. Gross Domestic Product and creating hundreds of thousands of domestic jobs, said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., in opening remarks.
The Commerce Department is postponing until Feb. 13, 2014, its preliminary antidumping duty determinations on oil country tubular goods from India, South Korea, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam (A-533-857, A-580-870, A-565-802, A-517-804, A-583-850, A-549-832, A-489-816, A-823-815, A-552-817). The preliminary determination had previously been due Dec. 9, later extended to Dec. 26 because of the federal government shutdown. Commerce cited the “extraordinary complexity and the number of firms whose activities we must investigate” as justification for postponing until February.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on lined paper products from China (A-570-901). The agency continued to find Leo's Quality Products Co., Ltd/Denmax Plastic Stationery Factory did not demonstrate freedom from state control, so assigned the company to the China-wide enttiy with a 258.21% AD rate. Commerce also found Hwa Fuh Plastics Co., Ltd./Li Teng Plastics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. did not have any shipments to the U.S. during the period of review, and said Shanghai Lian Li Paper Products Co., Ltd. was uncontactable. Subject merchandise from Hwa Fuh/Li Teng and Shanghai Lian Li will continue to enter at AD cash deposit rates set in previous reviews. The new rate is effective Oct. 31, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
A response from Aereo is due Nov. 12 to broadcasters’ attempt to appeal their 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals case for a preliminary injunction against the streaming TV service to the Supreme Court, according to the high court’s website (http://1.usa.gov/1al4hW2). Analysts have said the court is unlikely to grant cert while Aereo still faces litigation in multiple jurisdictions (CD Oct 15 p15). The New York case at the center of the cert petition is still proceeding on the merits, and Aereo has ongoing copyright infringement cases in Utah (CD Oct 9 p21) and Massachusetts, where Hearst has filed an appeal to the 1st Circuit to overturn a lower court’s denial of another preliminary injunction (CD Oct 11 p4). Aereo competitor FilmOn X, which uses a nearly identical business model, is also embroiled in litigation that could affect whether the petition for cert is granted. FilmOn is enjoined from broadcasting copyrighted material everywhere in the U.S. but the states in the 2nd Circuit’s jurisdiction because of a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decision, which it has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (CD Sept 9 p18). FilmOn is also in the midst of an appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (CD Aug 29 p5). Despite the litigation, Aereo is continuing to expand its service. The company said Tuesday it plans to expand into the Denver area starting Nov. 4 (http://bit.ly/1amqvXR). The expansion will include 67 counties across Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming and more than 3.4 million consumers, Aereo said in a news release. “Denver is a growing and dynamic tech hub and the enthusiasm we've received from the community has been phenomenal,” said founder Chet Kanojia.
The Commerce Department issued the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review on circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Thailand (A-549-502). The agency continued to find a zero AD rate for Saha Thai Steel Pipe (Public) Company, Ltd., and found the other respondent, Pacific Pipe Company Limited, had no shipments to the U.S. during the period of review. Commerce will direct CBP to liquidate period of review entries of subject merchandise from Saha Pipe without regard to AD duties, and will not collect a cash deposit on future entries of subject merchandise exported by Saha Pipe until further notice. Subject merchandise from Pacific Pipe will continue to enter at AD cash deposit rates set in previous reviews. The new rate is effective Oct. 31, and will be implemented by CBP soon.
Intel President Renée James and Symantec CEO Steve Bennett were among the industry executives who met behind closed doors Tuesday with President Barack Obama to discuss cybersecurity matters, the White House said. Obama met with Bennett, James and executives from the finance, energy and defense sectors to “discuss the importance of cybersecurity,” with an emphasis on industry’s cooperation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology in developing the Cybersecurity Framework and other efforts to implement Obama’s cybersecurity executive order, the White House said. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker also attended the meeting, a Department of Commerce spokeswoman said. The meeting is the latest part of the White House’s effort to encourage the private sector to improve its cybersecurity protections. NIST Director Patrick Gallagher on Friday repeatedly encouraged industry to take a commanding role in the framework’s development, saying NIST would play a supporting role in the future (CD Oct 28 p8). NIST formally released the preliminary version of the framework in the Federal Register Tuesday, beginning the official 45-day comment period. Comments are due Dec. 13 (http://1.usa.gov/1byHYIZ). The executives told Obama and Pritzker they appreciated the degree to which NIST had consulted industry in developing the framework, the White House said. It said the executives also discussed the problems small and medium-sized businesses may encounter in adopting the framework’s best practices. Obama, Pritzker and the executives also discussed the need for Congress to pass information sharing legislation, the White House said. The other executives at the meeting were MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga, Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Pepco Holdings CEO Joe Rigby and Visa CEO Charles Scharf.
A response from Aereo is due Nov. 12 to broadcasters’ attempt to appeal their 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals case for a preliminary injunction against the streaming TV service to the Supreme Court, according to the high court’s website (http://1.usa.gov/1al4hW2). Analysts have said the court is unlikely to grant cert while Aereo still faces litigation in multiple jurisdictions (WID Oct 15 p6). The New York case at the center of the cert petition is still proceeding on the merits, and Aereo has ongoing copyright infringement cases in Utah (WID Oct 9 p15) and Massachusetts, where Hearst has filed an appeal to the 1st Circuit to overturn a lower court’s denial of another preliminary injunction. Aereo competitor FilmOn X, which uses a nearly identical business model, is also embroiled in litigation that could affect whether the petition for cert is granted. FilmOn is enjoined from broadcasting copyrighted material everywhere in the U.S. but the states in the 2nd Circuit’s jurisdiction because of a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decision, which it has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (WID Sept 9 p11). FilmOn is also in the midst of an appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (WID Aug 29 p7). Despite the litigation, Aereo is continuing to expand its service. The company said Tuesday it plans to expand into the Denver area starting Nov. 4 (http://bit.ly/1amqvXR). The expansion will include 67 counties across Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming and more than 3.4 million consumers, Aereo said in a news release. “Denver is a growing and dynamic tech hub and the enthusiasm we've received from the community has been phenomenal,” said founder Chet Kanojia.
Intel President Renée James and Symantec CEO Steve Bennett were among the industry executives who met behind closed doors Tuesday with President Barack Obama to discuss cybersecurity matters, the White House said. Obama met with Bennett, James and executives from the finance, energy and defense sectors to “discuss the importance of cybersecurity,” with an emphasis on industry’s cooperation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology in developing the Cybersecurity Framework and other efforts to implement Obama’s cybersecurity executive order, the White House said. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker also attended the meeting, a Department of Commerce spokeswoman said. The meeting is the latest part of the White House’s effort to encourage the private sector to improve its cybersecurity protections. NIST Director Patrick Gallagher on Friday repeatedly encouraged industry to take a commanding role in the framework’s development, saying NIST would play a supporting role in the future (WID Oct 28 p4). NIST formally released the preliminary version of the framework in the Federal Register Tuesday, beginning the official 45-day comment period. Comments are due Dec. 13 (http://1.usa.gov/1byHYIZ). The executives told Obama and Pritzker they appreciated the degree to which NIST had consulted industry in developing the framework, the White House said. It said the executives also discussed the problems small and medium-sized businesses may encounter in adopting the framework’s best practices. Obama, Pritzker and the executives also discussed the need for Congress to pass information sharing legislation, the White House said. The other executives at the meeting were MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga, Northrop Grumman CEO Wes Bush, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Pepco Holdings CEO Joe Rigby and Visa CEO Charles Scharf.