Welcome to MeriTalk News Briefs, where we bring you all the day’s action that didn’t quite make the headlines. No need to shout about ‘em, but we do feel that they merit talk.
IoT Bill Clears House Commerce Panel
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection on Wednesday approved by voice vote the SMART IoT Act (HR 6032). The bill would direct the Commerce Department to study and report to Congress within one year on the U.S. internet-connected device industry, including on voluntary and mandatory standards that are being developed around the world for the internet of things (IoT) sector, which Federal agencies have jurisdiction over the sector, and any regulations or standards those agencies have put in place that impact the IoT sector. The bill will now go to the full committee for consideration.
Senate Committee Presses Pause on Cyber SAFETY Act
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has indefinitely postponed voting on adding cybersecurity considerations to the SAFETY Act of 2018. The Act was on the agenda for the Committee’s markup meeting yesterday, but was never discussed. “We’re still trying to work through different issues, there are concerns about how broad that is and what the language is,” Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said.
NIST Sets Cyber Risk Management Conference
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has scheduled its Cybersecurity Risk Management Conference for Nov. 7-9 in Baltimore.
DHS Cyber Summit Set For July 31
The Department of Homeland Security said it will hold its National Cybersecurity Summit July 31 in New York City. DHS said that venue and program details would be forthcoming.
Oracle Tracking Routing Issues
On Wednesday Oracle launched the Internet Intelligence Map, which tracks and logs Internet routing issues in countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, Syria, and Iran. The map–which is available for free–presents country-level connectivity statistics based on traceroutes, Border Gateway Protocol, and Domain Name System (DNS) query volumes on one dashboard. According to an Oracle release, the public can now track the health of the Internet and gain insight into the impact of events such as natural disasters or state-imposed interruptions. “Disruptions on the internet can affect companies, governments, and network operators in profound ways,” said Kyle York, vice president of product strategy for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and the general manager for Oracle’s Dyn Global Business Unit. “As a result, all of these stakeholders need better visibility into the health of the global internet.”
Painter, Ledgett Join Palo Alto Networks Council
Christopher Painter, formerly the State Department’s senior cybersecurity diplomat, has joined the Palo Alto Networks Public Sector Advisory Council, which advises the company on security and technical challenges faced by governments. Also joining the council is Richard Ledgett, former deputy director of the National Security Agency.