Tag Archive for: section

Window opens for new internet security section


Stacy Shi

A new department may be created under the Digital Policy Office to oversee internet security and manage major digital projects, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong told the Legislative Council yesterday.

Sun was replying to lawmaker Yung Hoi-yan’s concerns over system failures in recent months, including the suspension of voting for last year’s district council election at polling stations.

”To support the important mission of building a digital government in the future, the government is formulating new policies, with a view to strengthening the future Digital Policy Office, at different work junctures such as project initiation, tendering, formulation of technical options, system development, testing and risk assessment,” Sun said.

The policies are aimed at providing greater support to bureaus and departments and enhancing the stability and security of government e-services, he added.

On the electronic poll register system failure in December, Sun said the Registration and Electoral Office conducted three levels of monitoring and testing for the system and the Electoral Affairs Commission is investigating the causes to ensure it will not recur.

”The findings will be reported in detail in the report to be submitted to [Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu] within three months after the election as required by law.”

Election Committee sector lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun said she was upset to see some voters being unable to cast their ballot, asking whether there will be backup plans or mainland experts imported to avoid similar incidents in the future.

”We have immediately switched to printed copies of the voter register to issue ballot papers, which was among our backup plans,” Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai said. “We will further enhance the training of our colleagues in this respect, and arrange for relevant rehearsals.”

In addition, Sun said the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has already rolled out an enforcement guideline on supervising contractors in a bid to solve recent mishaps in the government’s IT system.

He said…

Source…

Ransomware attack hits Indianapolis Housing Agency’s Section 8 system


The Indianapolis Housing Agency, the federal agency responsible for providing housing to low-income tenants in the city, has been battling a cyber-attack for the past three weeks that’s compromised their entire information technology system.

The agency has not released details about the motive or identity of the individuals behind the ransomware attack, which is a type of malicious software often unknowingly downloaded onto computers through methods such as innocuous email attachments. The software prevents users from accessing computer files and systems. It can result in massive disruptions and loss of information.

As the name suggests, ransomware attacks can involve demands for ransom payments in exchange for the system being restored.

Ransomware:What to do if you are hit by an attack

The ransomware attack delayed the Indianapolis Housing Agency’s ability to send out October rent payments to landlords for the federal housing choice voucher program, also known as Section 8, which 8,000 Indianapolis families depend on. Section 8 provides rental assistance to very low-income families, the elderly, and disabled individuals for housing on the private market, and the agency administers the program for Indianapolis.

Source…

Security vs Privacy! What's The Difference? | Go Incognito 1.3



Hillicon Valley: House lawmakers fired up for hearing with tech CEOs | Zuckerberg proposes conditional Section 230 reforms


Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill’s newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you don’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter by clicking HERE.



Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Sundar Pichai are posing for a picture: Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai


© Greg Nash/Getty Images
Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai

Welcome! Follow our cyber reporter, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and tech team, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@chrisismills) and Rebecca Klar (@rebeccaklar_), for more coverage.

Today: The CEOs of major social media platforms are gearing up to testify before a House committee tomorrow on misinformation around COVID-19 and the recent Capitol riot. Meanwhile, a group of 12 state attorneys general are pressuring Facebook and Twitter to tackle COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, and two lawmakers reintroduced legislation aimed at making internet-connected devices safer for the consumer.

TECH HEARING TIME AGAIN: The CEOs of the country’s biggest social media platforms will testify Thursday before a Congress eager to press them on their roles spreading misinformation related to coronavirus and the lead-up to the deadly insurrection at the Capitol in January.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Google’s Sundar Pichai will appear remotely in front of two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees set to take a markedly different tone from previous hearings.

“We are done with conversation,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), chairwoman of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, said at an event Monday. “We are now moving ahead with regulation and legislation, and that is inevitable. We want them to understand how seriously they better take this.”

What to expect: The hearing will likely focus on the part the massive platforms play in spreading potentially dangerous misinformation – ranging from election result conspiracies to lies about the coronavirus vaccine – and a suite of proposed and forthcoming legislative fixes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives platforms liability protection from content posted by third parties and allows them to safely moderate.

All three companies have highlighted their work on content moderation and new policies recently,…

Source…