Hillicon Valley: Biden warns Putin of Russian ransomware attacks | Biden signs widespread tendency to boost competition

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Hillicon Valley: Biden warns Putin of Russian ransomware attacks | Biden signs strong trend to boost competition | TikTok updates the automated removal system

Welcome and good Friday! Follow our cyber reporter, Maggie Miller (@ magmill95), and the technology team, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@millsrodrigo) and Rebecca Clare (@rebeccaklar_), for more coverage.

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President Biden concluded a very active week in cybersecurity by calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss concerns, including recent Russian ransomware attacks, urging him to take steps to disrupt criminal groups operating in the country. The call came a week after a ransomware attack on the Kaseya software team hit up to 1,500 companies.

It was a busy Friday for Biden’s administration, with the president also signing an executive order to improve competition in the United States, which included language on antitrust law and network neutrality, among other technology-related issues.

THE OFFER AND PUTIN HAVE ADVICE: President Biden spoke by telephone with the Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday and urged him to take action to disrupt criminal groups operating in Russia behind recent ransomware attacks in the United States.

Biden also warned that the United States “will take the necessary steps to defend its people and their critical infrastructure in the face of this ongoing challenge,” according to a White House reading.

The conversation came after a ransomware attack last week on software company Kaseya that affected up to 1,500 companies, many of which were vulnerable US small businesses. Cybersecurity experts have blamed the attack on the Russian-based Russian criminal group “REvil”. However, the Biden government has not officially attributed the attack.

“I made it very clear that the United States expects when a ransomware business comes from its territory, even though it is not funded by the state, we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who they are,” Biden said. he later told reporters when asked about the phone call.

Asked if there would be consequences for ransomware attacks, Biden said no without saying so.

A senior administration official told reporters on Friday that while the administration would not “telegraph” what actions, if any, there would likely be some form of response.

Read more about tensions with Russia here.

LARGE EXECUTIVE MOVEMENTS: President Joe Biden signed an extended executive order Friday to improve competition across the US economy. Here’s a quick look at how ordering – which specifically mentions technology as an area of ​​focus – can affect industry:

– COPY: The mandate calls on the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to strongly enforce existing laws, and stresses that both regulators can reverse and challenge mergers (consider acquiring WhatsApp and Instagram from Facebook).

FTC President Lina Khan, who joined Biden for the signing, and DOJ Acting Antitrust Chief Richard Powers issued a statement Friday saying the current merger guidelines “deserve a hard look.”

– RIGHT TO REPAIR: The FTC is also being asked to publish rules that give customers a greater right to repair devices either on their own or in third-party stores.

Technology companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Google have opposed repair legislation that would force them to share internal repair guides for years and keep consumers relying on them for fixes.

Video: FTC commissioner Noah Phillips pushes for Big Tech (CNBC) regulation

FTC commissioner New Phillips pushes for Big Tech regulation

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“Tech and other companies are imposing restrictions on self-repair and third-party repairs, making repairs more costly and time consuming, as well as limiting the distribution of spare parts, diagnostics and repair tools,” the White House said in a Series newsletter.

– CLEANING: Biden’s mandate encourages the Federal Communications Commission to reinstate the Obama-era rules that required ISPs to treat all Internet traffic equally.

Restoring pure neutrality has been a priority for progressive digital rights activists. However, until Biden successfully places a fifth commissioner in the body, these efforts are likely to stall.

The order also asks the FCC to provide more information to consumers about how much they actually pay for the Internet.

Read more about ordering.

TIKTOK UPDATE: TikTok brings a new system to the US and Canada to automatically remove videos that violate platform policies.

The automated system will be used primarily for breaches of TikTok’s policies on trivial security, sexual activity, violence, illicit activity and controlled goods, the company said in a blog post.

“While no technology can be completely accurate in content surveillance, where decisions often require a high degree of environment or nuance, we will continue to improve the accuracy of our technology to minimize incorrect removals.” TikTok noted in a blog post

Read more about the updates here.

NEW INTEL COMMUNITY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is hiring a new chief of staff for its operational services, a change of leadership for a DHS wing that has come under increasing scrutiny since the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

In a letter to the staff, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced that John Cohen will head the Office of Information and Analysis (I&A) in addition to his role as coordinator in the fight against terrorism.

Cohen’s title is officially listed as a senior official acting deputy secretary, a name that bypasses the formal nomination process and leaves the top intelligence bureau for the department without a Senate chief for six months in the new administration.

Read more here.

What we watch next week:

– A subcommittee of the Community Judicial Committee will consider the use of face recognition technology by law during the July 13 hearing.

– The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs will consider a number of cyber-related legislation. on July 14th, including a bill to protect K-12 institutions from hackers.

– The Senate Trade Committee will carry out hearing on 15 July on the resilience of the supply chain with the testimony of technology experts.

-The Home Security Committee will carry out one hearing on 15 July on the reform of the Ministry of Homeland Security to address evolving threats, which are likely to include discussions on recent cyber security incidents.

An op-ed for chewing: A new view of digital rights: Turn them into part of the digital infrastructure

Lighter clicks: There really is no way to say that

IMPORTANT LINKS FROM THE WEBSITE:

Pinterest wants a creator economy. He can do it the way Pinterest; (Protocol / David Pierce)

How to reform copyright could allow police conduct (National Gazette / Brendan Bordelon)

Facebook got rid of it Categories of tribal ads . Or did he do it? (Markup / Jon Keegan)