This episode of the Cyberroll podcast is dominated by stories of potential cybersecurity controls. David Chris first directed us an article By Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Administration (CISA) Leaders Abroad. Jane Easterly and Eric Goldstein seem to take a hard line on “why companies need to build security into tech products.” But for all difficult language, one word, “control” is completely missing from the section. Meanwhile, the cybersecurity strategy the White House appears to have been drafting for months Demands for control have been staggered with enthusiasm.
In a world where Republicans hold the House, that all seems a bit odd. Regulation is unlikely to be high on the GOP to-do list, so calls for tighter regulation are surely more symbolic than real.
Still, this is clearly a week of symbolic calls for rules. David takes us through a National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) report On the competitive effects of Apple and Google’s regulation of the mobile app market. The report points out Many problems and opportunities for abuse are inherent in the two companies’ headlock Can apps be sold to phone users? But, as Google and Apple are quick to point out, stores play a role in controlling app security, so breaking Headlock can be bad for cybersecurity. In any event, virtually every recommendation for action in the report is a call to Congress—and thus almost certainly a nonstarter for the reasons already given.
To overcome the regulatory bit of duplicity, Jordan Snyder and Sultan Meghji explore some policy and regulatory proposals for AI inspired by ChatGPT’s success. The EU’s AI Act is getting a lot of attention, mainly from industry segments that want exemptions. Sultan and I trade observations on who will be scooped first by ChatGPT, law firms or investment firms.
In other news, Sultan tells us why the ION ransomware hack is important. Jordan and Sultan found a cybersecurity angle in The Great Chinese Balloon Scandal of 2023. And I offer an assessment of Matt Taibbi’s story about the Hamilton 68 “Russian influence” report. If you’re wondering what the fuss was all about, don’t expect the mainstream media to tell you; The media does not look good on this story. Unfortunately for Matt Taibbi, it doesn’t make him look any better than the reporters criticizing his story. David thinks it’s taken with a balanced and moderate story, for which I apologize and promise to do better next time.
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