Tag Archive for: Regulation

Brain-Computer Interface Companies Are Wary of Regulation


The nascent field of brain-computer interfaces is particularly sensitive to security concerns, making it a natural target for stringent oversight. But at a conference Thursday, several executives warned of the potential for what they called overregulation.

Brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, aim to enhance brain function using specialized devices. At a conference hosted by the US Commerce Department on Thursday, representatives from BCI companies including Elon Musk’s Neuralink Corp. spoke about their work and voiced concerns about government intervention.

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Singapore Releases Blueprint to Combat Ransomware Attacks – Regulation Asia



Singapore Releases Blueprint to Combat Ransomware Attacks  Regulation Asia

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Former DOJ Official: Regulation Good for Crypto


A former official from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said regulation of cryptocurrency would be a good thing.

An opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Thursday (Jan. 20) by Makan Delrahim, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump and served as assistant attorney general for the agency’s antitrust division from 2017-21, said blockchain applications could transform the economy. But there’s a caveat.

“Crypto is different in one key respect: It has the ability to create and maintain decentralized marketplaces,” he wrote. “Blockchain can topple incumbents because it is an open technology of decentralized trust. It makes it possible to cut out the middleman.”

He wrote that the White House is poised to issue an executive order directing federal agencies to recommend possible crypto regulations. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) have called for increased federal guidance of stablecoins.

In addition, while Congress debates the issue, a federal judge will rule on whether sales of tokens by international payments processor Ripple should be considered securities transactions that require registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Delrahim called on the President Joe Biden administration to include government competition lawyers and economists in any conversations about crypto guidelines.

“There’s a lot of potential here,” he wrote.

Delrahim’s comments come one day after SEC Chairman Gary Gensler made a push to bring cryptocurrency exchanges within his agency’s remit.

Read more: Gensler Says SEC Is Coming for Crypto Exchanges

Following a Wednesday (Jan. 19) speech on “Dynamic Regulation for a Dynamic Society,” Gensler argued that it is vital for crypto investors to get the kind of protections long afforded stock traders.

“I’ve asked staff to look at every way to get these platforms inside the investor protection remit,” Gensler said. “If the trading platforms don’t come into the regulated space, it’d be another year of the public being vulnerable.”

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After Colonial hack, DHS issues first cybersecurity regulation for pipelines


The Department of Homeland Security has issued the first cybersecurity regulation for the pipeline sector.

The regulation, issued Thursday morning, is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to bolster security for national infrastructure after a company that operates the largest fuel pipeline in the country was hit with a ransomware attack earlier this month.

Colonial Pipeline shut down all pipeline operations after it was hacked by a group believed to be Russian criminals, who locked some of its computers and demanded a ransom to set them free.

While Colonial was able to restart operations within five days, it had already become one of the most impactful cyberattacks in American history. The United States issued an emergency order to allow truckers to drive overtime to help transport fuel, and gas stations across the country reported outages. Colonial CEO Joseph Blount told The Wall Street Journal he quickly paid the hackers’ $4.4 million demand, but that their program to restore their systems was so slow he hired outside computer experts to do it instead.

While DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency provides guidance to U.S. companies that handle the country’s infrastructure, there are few federal government requirements for them to have even basic cybersecurity measures in place.

Under the new regulation, roughly 100 pipeline companies will be required to keep a cybersecurity coordinator on call at all times, and to report any incident to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within 12 hours. 

In a call DHS held with reporters Wednesday evening, one senior agency official, who requested to not be named as part of the terms of the call, said that pipeline companies found out of compliance with the new regulation would face escalating fines starting around $7,000.

“There are financial penalties associated with failure to comply with security directives, and those can be imposed on a daily basis, so they can ramp up pretty significantly over time,” the official said.

Bryson Bort, a cybersecurity consultant and founder of the ICS Village, a nonprofit that advocates for industrial cybersecurity, said that while he didn’t expect the regulation…

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