6/4. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), introduced S 3254 [LOC | WW], the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013" on June 4, 2012. The SASC approved it on June 4. See, Senate Report No. 112-173. It contains numerous provisions that relate to cyber warfare and information and communications technology.

Offensive Cyber Warfare. This bill, at Section 923(b), authorizes "offensive cyber operations". It also provides for the reassignment of "network operations" personnel to the "United States Cyber Command" for this purpose, and further authorizes the Cyber Command to "take appropriate actions to ensure the availability to the United States Cyber Command of appropriate numbers of personnel qualified to undertake tasks related to offensive operations".

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the ranking Republican on the SASC, wrote in his statement for the committee report that "I believe that cyber warfare will be the key battlefield of the 21st century, and I am concerned about our ability to fight and win in this new domain."

Sen. McCain (at right) wrote that "I authored a provision in the bill that requires the commander of U.S. Cyber Command to provide a strategy for the development and deployment of offensive cyber capabilities. I am very concerned that our strategy is too reliant on defensive measures in cyber space, and believe we need to develop the capability to go on the offense as well. This provision to craft a comprehensive strategy should spur U.S. Cyber Command to develop this offensive capability effectively and at a reasonable cost to the taxpayer."

Huawei and Supply Chain Threats. This bill states, at Section 924, that "Cybersecurity threats are pervasive and serious, including through the supply chain of information technology equipment and software." And, it specifically references Huawei, which has a relationship with the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

This bill states that "Semiconductor manufacturing is already dominated by foreign producers, presenting supply chain risk management challenges."  Also, "foreign manufacturers of telecommunications equipment, including advanced wireless technology, are gaining global market share due to high quality and low prices. Competitive market forces ensure that commercial providers of consumer, business, and government systems and services will choose equipment and associated software from these manufacturers."

It adds that "In some cases, like Huawei Industries, this competitive position stems in part from inappropriate government subsidies and other forms of assistance."

See also, story titled "US China Commission Reports that PRC Uses Foreign Assistance to Promote Its Telecom Sector" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,300, September 13, 2011. That report covered PRC support for ZTE as well as Huawei.

Moreover, the bill states that "Some of these companies also present clear cybersecurity supply chain risks that the Government must address."

However, the bill also notes that "Blocking sales from providers of information technology systems and services due to concerns about cybersecurity risks, while maintaining our commitment to free trade and fair and transparent competition, poses difficult policy challenges."

In 2007-2008, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reviewed Huawei's attempt to acquire 3Com. See, story titled "3Com Huawei Transaction to be Reviewed by CFIUS" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,652, October 9, 2007, and story titled "Bain Drops Bid to Acquire 3Com in Face of CFIUS Review" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,722, February 25, 2008.

See also, stories titled:

• "Legislators Write Genachowski Regarding FCC Authority to Regulate Purchase of Telecom Equipment from PRC" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,142, October 19, 2010.
• "House Intelligence Committee Launches Investigation of Huawei" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,313, October 22, 2012.
• "Rep. Rogers and Rep. Ruppersburger Write Huawei and ZTE and About Ties to PRC Government" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,395, June 13, 2012.

PRC's Cyber Warfare Capabilities. The bill, at Section 1232, amends the current requirement that the Department of Defense (DOD) prepare an annual report titled "Annual Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China". See, 10 U.S.C. § 113 notes.

Currently, the statute's requires the DOD to report on "Developments in China's asymmetric capabilities, including efforts to acquire, develop, and deploy cyberwarfare capabilities."

The bill expands this requirement. It requires that the report cover "cyberwarfare and electronic warfare capabilities, and associated activities originating or suspected of originating from China", including "the nature of China's cyber activities directed against the Department of Defense and an assessment of the damage inflicted on the Department of Defense by reason thereof, and the potential harms; ... a description of China's strategy for use and potential targets of offensive cyberwarfare and electronic warfare capabilities; ... details on the number of malicious cyber incidents emanating from Internet Protocol addresses in China, including a comparison of the number of incidents during the reporting period to previous years; and ... details regarding the specific People's Liberation Army; state security; research and academic; state-owned, associated, or other commercial enterprises; and other relevant actors involved in supporting or conducting cyberwarfare and electronic warfare activities and capabilities".

PRC's EMP Attack Capability. Section 1232 also requires that the DOD's annual report on the PRC cover other areas of activity, including "An analysis of China's efforts to use electromagnetic pulse".

An EMP weapon is a nuclear bomb, detonated at high altitude, and at a great distance from the intended targets, for the purpose of generating a huge electromagnetic pulse that would disrupt or damage unshielded computer systems and other electronics. Such a detonation, to achieve disruption in the US, would not have to take place in the US, or have any degree of accuracy.

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) held a hearing on EMP attacks on July 10, 2008. See also, stories titled "House Republicans Seek DNI Study of EMP Attacks" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,169, December 5, 2010, and "House Committee to Hold Hearing on EMP Attacks" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 939, July 16, 2004.

Other Provisions. Section 1232 also requires that the DOD's annual report on the PRC contain "A description of China's command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance modernization program and its applications for China's precision guided weapons".

The bill requires, at Section 923, that the DOD "shall take appropriate actions to substantially reduce the number of sub-networks and network enclaves across the Department of Defense, and the associated security and access management controls, in order to increase the security of DOD networks, network equipment, and computers."

The bill provides, at Section 929, that no DOD component "may utilize the cloud computing database developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) called Accumulo after September 30, 2013, unless" the DOD certifies that "there are no viable commercial open source databases with extensive industry support (such as the Apache Foundation HBase and Cassandra databases) that have security features comparable to the Accumulo database that are considered essential" and "the Accumulo database has become a successful Apache Foundation open source database with adequate industry support and diversification". (Parentheses in original.) See, Apache Accumulo web site.

6/8. Steve Coll, President of the New America Foundation (NAF), wrote a short piece titled "The Rewards and Risks of Cyberwarfare".

He wrote that the US cyber attack on Iran's nuclear weapons development program "will invite imitation and retaliation in kind, and it has established new and disturbing norms for state aggression on the Internet and in its side-channels. American and Israeli official action now stands available as a justification for others."

He added that "in the future, ... the ability to conduct cyber attacks will be very broadly distributed -- not just among governments, but among individuals, corporations, and terrorists."

In addition, Fred Kaplan, a Senior Fellow at the NAF, wrote a short piece titled "Why the United States Can't Win a Cyberwar".

Kaplan argued that "Because our social and economic structures are far more dependent on computer networks than those in any other country, a major cyberattack would do far more damage to us. Therefore, the situation in the cyber domain is more like this: We hurt you; you cripple us. That being the case, an offensive cyber strategy amounts to a suicidal trap."

He continued that in the case that "China puts a move on Taiwan or the South China Sea -- and threatens to trigger a power blackout in every American city if we interfere", than threatening to "retaliate in kind ... would have little effect".

6/11. President Obama nominated Jon Tigar and William Orrick III to be Judges of the U.S. District Court (NDCal), which includes Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and other areas. See, White House release and release.

Tigar has been a California state trial court judge since 2002 (Alameda County Superior Court). Before that, he worked for the law firm of Keker & Van Nest.

Orrick is a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Division, a political appointment. He has served in the Obama DOJ since 2010. Before that, he worked at the San Francisco law firm of Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass for 25 years.

His father, William Orrick Jr., was also a Judge of the U.S. District Court (NDCal), appointed by former President Nixon. His grandfather, William Orrick, was one of the founders of Orrick Herrington Sutcliffe.

6/15. Sharon Gillett, Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB), will leave the FCC. Julie Veach, who is currently Deputy General Counsel in the FCC's Office of General Counsel, will become Chief of the FCC's WCB on June 30, 2012. See, FCC release. Veach has worked at the FCC since 2001. Before that she worked at a predecessor firm to Wilmer Hale.

6/15. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Ajit Pai named Nicholas Degani to be his Legal Advisor for wireline issues. See, FCC release. Degani was previously a Republican counsel to the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Before that, he worked in various positions at the FCC, which he joined in 2007, following completion of law school and a judicial clerkship.

6/14. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) held an executive business meeting at which it held over consideration of the nomination of Brian Davis to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (MDFl). This nomination is again on the agenda for the SJC meeting on June 21. See, notice.

6/15. Bret Taylor, Facebook's Chief Technology Office, will leave the company.

6/15. Lawrence Strickling, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) wrote a short piece titled "Putting the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights into Practice". He wrote that "On July 12, NTIA will convene the first meeting for stakeholders to begin developing a code of conduct that applies the Transparency principle in the Consumer Bill of Rights to mobile apps. We proposed this as an initial topic because it is a privacy challenge that affects many consumers yet is discrete enough to be addressed in a reasonable period of time." See also, meeting notice.

6/14. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) announced that its Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will hold a hearing titled "The Future of Video" on June 27, and an oversight hearing on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on July 10. See, notice.

6/15. Rachel Brandenburger, Special Advisor in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division, gave a speech in Madrid, Spain, titled "The Many Facets of International Cooperation at the Antitrust Division".

The House will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will numerous items under suspension of the rules, including HRes 683, which expresses the regret of the House of Representatives for the passage of laws in the 19th Century that adversely affected the Chinese in the United States, including the Chinese Exclusion Act., and HR 3668 [LOC | WW], the "Counterfeit Drug Penalty Enhancement Act of 2012". Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 3:00 PM.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a conference titled "Buying and Selling at the Speed of Light: Taking Stock of High Frequency Trading". The speakers will include Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding the data reporting requirements associated with the NTIA's program to develop and maintain a inventory map of broadband service capability and availability in the US. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 74, Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at Pages 22762-22763.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the information collection requirements of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry (NPRM and NOI) [84 pages in PDF] regarding use of MSS Spectrum for Terrestrial Broadband. The FCC adopted and released this item on March 21, 2012. It is FCC 12-32 in WT Docket No. 12-70, ET Docket No. 10-142, and WT Docket No. 04-356. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 74, Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at Pages 22720-22748. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM Regarding Use of MSS Spectrum for Terrestrial Broadband" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,353, March 22, 2012.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 106, Friday, June 1, 2012, at Pages 32570-32571. Location: NIST, Portrait Room, Administration Building, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "New Technologies and Innovations in the Mobile and Online space, and the Implications for Public Policy". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a presentation titled "Prometheus Bound -- Analyzing the Current Restraints on Patent Eligible Subject Matter". The speakers will be Jonas Anderson (American University law school), Erika Arner (Finnegan Henderson), Michael Kiklis (Oblon Spivak), and Jeffrey Fougere (Sterne Kessler). The price to attend ranges from $25 to $35. Reporters are barred from attending most DC Bar events. No CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: Paul Weiss, Suite 100, 2001 K St., NW.

1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up HR 5949 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012". See, notice. See also, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Takes Up Bill To Extend FISA Outside the US Warrantless Wiretap Authority" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,396, Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing or mark up titled "Intelligence Matters". See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to register to attend the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) event titled "National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Workshop". See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 87, Friday, May 4, 2012, at Page 26511-26512.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Issues in USF Contribution Reform". CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Privacy Office will host an event titled "Privacy Compliance Workshop". The deadline to register is 5:00 PM on Friday, June 15. Location: Federal Trade Commission (FTC) satellite building, 601 New Jersey, Ave., NW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Regulatory Threats to Mobile Health Information Technologies". See, notice. Location: AEI, 1150 15th St., NW.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) will meet. The deadline to register is Friday, June 15. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 102, Friday, May 25, 2012, at Pages 31441-31442. Location: IRS, Room 2140, 1111 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 106, Friday, June 1, 2012, at Pages 32570-32571. Location: NIST, Portrait Room, Administration Building, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:30 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee (HWMC) will hold a hearing titled "Russia’s Accession to the World Trade Organization and Granting Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations". The hearing notice states that the topics to be covered include enforcement of intellectual property rights. Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

9:30 - 11:30 AM. The Senate Banking Committee's (SBC) Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment will hold a hearing titled "Examining the IPO Process: Is It Working for Ordinary Investors?". The witnesses will be Ann Sherman (DePaul University), Joel Trotter (Latham & Watkins), and Lise Buyer (Class V Group, LLC). See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the United States Patent and Trademark Office: Implementation of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and International Harmonization Efforts". David Kappos, head of the USPTO will testify. The SJC will webcast this hearing. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:30 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will hold a hearing on HR 2899 [LOC | WW], the "Chinese Media Reciprocity Act of 2011". This bill pertains to visas for employees of the Xinhua News Agency and other PRC state controlled media. See, notice. See also, "More PRC and Taiwan Trade News" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,305, September 28, 2011. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Summer Kick Off Happy Hour and Welcome to Interns". For more information, contact Justin Faulb at Faulb at lojlaw dot com or Brendan Carr BrendanTCarr at gmail dot com. Location: Iron Horse Tap Room, 507 7th St., NW.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Visitor Center.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration Brian Davis (to be a Judge of the USDC/MDFl). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing titled "Russia’s WTO Accession - Administration’s Views on the Implications for the United States". See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) will host an event to discuss FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's "Mobile Action Plan". The speakers will be Renee Wentzel (Legal Advisor to Genachowski) and John Leibovitz (FCC). Lunch will be served. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) asserts that this is an event of its Wireless Committee. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

1:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee's (SJC) Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing titled "The Universal Music Group/EMI Merger and the Future of Online Music". The witnesses will be Lucian Grainge (Universal Music Group), Roger Faxon (EMI Group), Irving Azoff (Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and Front Line Management Group), Edgar Bronfman (Warner Music Group Corp.), Martin Mills (Beggars Group Ltd), and Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge). The SJC will webcast this hearing. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing or mark up titled "Intelligence Matters". See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) will host an event titled "AIPLA 4th Annual Trademark Boot Camp". For more information, contact aipla at aipla dot org or call 703-415-0780. Location: Alexandria, VA.

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