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Category Archives: Congress

NIST Blames ‘Growing Backlog of Vulnerabilities’ Requiring Analysis on Lack of Support

Slashdot: “It’s the world’s most widely used vulnerability database, reports SC Magazine, offering standards-based data on CVSS severity scores, impacted software and platforms, contributing weaknesses, and links to patches and additional resources. But “there is a growing backlog of vulnerabilities” submitted to America’s National Vulnerability Database and “requiring analysis”, according to a new announcement from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards. “This is based on a variety of factors, including an increase in software and, therefore, vulnerabilities, as well as a change in interagency support.” From SC Magazine: According to NIST’s website, the institute analyzed only 199 of 3370 CVEs it received last month. [And this month another 677 came in — of which 24 have been analyzed.]  Other than a short notice advising it was working to establish a new consortium to improve the NVD, NIST had not provided a public explanation for the problems prior to a statement published [April 2]… “Currently, we are prioritizing analysis of the most significant vulnerabilities. In addition, we are working with our agency partners to bring on more support for analyzing vulnerabilities and have reassigned additional NIST staff to this task as well.” NIST, which had its budget cut by almost 12% this year by lawmakers, said it was committed to continuing to support and manage the NVD, which it described as “a key piece of the nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure… We are also looking into longer-term solutions to this challenge, including the establishment of a consortium of industry, government and other stakeholder organizations that can collaborate on research to improve the NVD,” the statement said. “We will provide more information as these plans develop…” A group of cybersecurity professionals have signed an open letter to Congress and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in which they say the enrichment issue is the result of a recent 20% cut in NVD funding.”

A US bill takes aim at protecting Americans’ data privacy

The Verge: “Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and House Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Oregon) announced a new, national data privacy bill called The American Privacy Rights Act (PDF) today. According to their release, the bill would, among other things, “require affirmative express consent sensitive data can be transferred to a third party.” The two were behind… Continue Reading

TrueMedia.org Launches a Free AI-enabled Deepfake Detector to Help Newsrooms

“TrueMedia.org, a non-partisan, non-profit organization committed to fighting AI-based disinformation, announces the launch of its deepfake detection technology for reporters, and other key audiences to use ahead of the 2024 U.S. elections.  The free tool is currently available to government officials, fact checkers, campaign staff, universities, non-profits, and reporters of accredited news organizations – from… Continue Reading

US House Bans Staffers From Using Microsoft Copilot at Work

PCMag: “The US House has reportedly banned staffers from using Microsoft Copilot on any government-owned devices. According to Axios, House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor sent a memo to congressional officers telling them that the AI chatbot is prohibited from use of government-owned devices, “due to the threat of leaking House data to non-House approved cloud… Continue Reading

2024 Edelman Trust Barometer

“The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a new paradox at the heart of society. Rapid innovation offers the promise of a new era of prosperity, but instead risks exacerbating trust issues, leading to further societal instability and political polarization. In a year where half the global population can vote in new leaders, the acceptance of… Continue Reading

America splintering into more than a dozen news bubbles

Axios: “Shards of glass: Inside media’s 12 splintering realities – You can’t understand November’s election — or America itself — without reckoning with how our media attention has shattered into a bunch of misshapen pieces. Think of it as the shards of glass phenomenon. Not long ago, we all saw news and information through a… Continue Reading

TikTokSpreads Misinformation 20 Percent of the Time and Is Banned in China

NewsGuard Reality Check: “The debate in Washington about what to do about TikTok is not about hypothetical harms. NewsGuard research over the years has shone a harsh light on TikTok as a misinformation superspreader. In one report, NewsGuard analysts mimicked how TikTok users interact with the video platform by analyzing 540 TikTok results based on… Continue Reading

A new archive of modern American political history

Semafor Media – The Cook Political Report, which has tracked the gritty day-to-day of politics for four decades, will put its entire archive online tomorrow, offering a remarkable and nonpartisan window into modern American political history. Charlie Cook launched the publication in 1984 as a simply-printed tipsheet covering political campaigns, and it grew into a… Continue Reading

Fact-opinion differentiation

Misinformation Review – paper by Matthew Mettler & Jeffery J. Mondak: “Statements of fact can be proved or disproved with objective evidence, whereas statements of opinion depend on personal values and preferences. Distinguishing between these types of statements contributes to information competence. Conversely, failure at fact-opinion differentiation potentially brings resistance to corrections of misinformation and… Continue Reading

House Committee Approves Bill Restricting Sales of Sensitive Data to Foreign Adversaries

EPIC: “March 7, 2024 the House Energy & Commerce Committee approved H.R. 7520, the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024, sponsored by Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). The bill prohibits data brokers from selling, transferring, or providing access to Americans’ sensitive data to certain foreign adversaries… Continue Reading