BIS Event: 4 Former BIS Heads Spanning 4 Administration’s Talk Future Of Bureau.
Register here to attend China Tech Threat’s July 13 virtual event featuring four former heads of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) spanning the Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton Administrations. Hosted by China Tech Threat Co-Founder Dr. Roslyn Layton, the discussion will focus on their tenures and what’s next for BIS given the challenges facing the agency and the resources it has today. For more on the future of BIS as anticipation builds for President Biden’s pick to lead it, visit our Future of BIS page.
NEW VLOG: High Tech Heist Video Series On Cyber Threats To U.S. Banks.
China Tech Threat released the first episode of its new High Tech Heist vlog series with a focus on the increasing cyber threats to our nation’s financial institutions and how to stop them. Beginning with Thomas P. Vartanian, a former federal banking regulator and author of 200 Years of American Financial Panics: Crashes, Recessions, Depressions & the Technology That Will Change It All, the series will feature cybersecurity and banking experts taking on the challenges, solutions and reacting to proactive recommendations in China Tech Threat’s report, High-Tech Heist: Chinese Government IT Vendors and the Threat to U.S. Banks.
ICYMI: “Let The Chips Fall At BIS?” Event.
Tune in here or read here for highlights from China Tech’s Threat’s June panel, which examined how Congress and the Biden Administration should manage the challenges surrounding semiconductors, and the leadership and next steps needed at BIS. The panel featured Stephen Ezell with the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, Will Hunt with Georgetown’s Center for Security & Emerging Technology, and Emily de La Bruyere with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
LiveStream: International Event On Global Security Challenges.
Click here to play. China Tech Threat Co-Founder and Strand Consult CEO John Strand presented on 5G Security at a global gathering of world security leaders at the Panama National Assembly. He described how mobile operators have ripped and replaced Chinese equipment from their networks to improve security in contrast to consumers who face increasing difficulty protecting their data from seeping to the Chinese government as many well-known American brands like GE Appliances, Motorola, and IBM have been purchased by Chinese entities Haier and Lenovo. The event was organized by former Congressman Robert Pittenger of the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum and featured US Senators Cassidy and Rubio; among other dignitaries.
White House Supply Chain Review Warns Of Chinese Government’s Massive Subsidy Campaign.
In June, the White House released a report on the Administration’s 100-day supply chain review, which warns of the Chinese government’s “massive subsidy campaign” to dominate emerging markets. It also offers a solemn assessment of American companies prioritizing profits over national security and long-term sustainability. Among its findings, the report said that memory chips are the “most mature” of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to dominate the semiconductor market, with Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) emerging as a “national champion memory chip producer.” A report by James Mulvenon this year identifies ties between YMTC and the People’s Liberation Army.
Webinar: NCS And FCC On Whole Of Nation Response To Address National Security.
A recent Telecom Policy Research Conference webinar, US Cybersecurity Policy for Data Breach, Ransomware and Supply Chain: What’s Working, What Isn’t and How to Fix It, addressed how to protecting individuals’ personal information and national security interests through broad collaboration—across nations and across industries. Moderated by Dr. Roslyn Layton, the event featured keynotes by Carole House, Director of Cybersecurity and Secure Digital Innovation at the National Security Council, and Brendan Carr, Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Carr noted a groundbreaking FCC rulemaking that would prohibit commercial use of products made by vulnerable suppliers on the FCC’s Covered List—whereas current restrictions only prevent government use. U.S. policymakers should also review companies whose supply chains originate in China While that is not required in the FCC’s proposed rulemaking, regulators “need to be sure the Entity List covers the range of Chinese companies under the government’s thumb,” like Lenovo and Lexmark, noted Carr.
Dr. Roslyn Layton: White House Report Shows Short-Term Profits Undermine Long-Term Resilience.
In a Forbes column, China Tech Threat Co-Founder Dr. Roslyn Layton shares her key takeaways from the White House’s supply chain report, writing that sales to Chinese companies have been a major driver of American SME makers’ profits: “A focus on maximizing short-term capital returns has led to the private sector’s underinvestment in long-term resilience.” Layton views the report as a “de facto roadmap” for the next BIS chief and writes it is notable for naming leading Chinese fabs with military connections which have yet to be designated as Military End Users or on the Entity List.
BofA CEO Says Cybersecurity Spending Has Doubled To $1 Billion Annually.
In a recent interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the company now spends more than $1 billion a year on cybersecurity. “I became CEO 11 and a half years ago, and we probably spent three to $400 million [per year] and we’re up over a billion now,” stated Moynihan. The comments follow previous comments by the company’s Chief Operations and Technology Officer who warned “There’s no question that the rate and pace of attacks, and the nature of attacks, has grown dramatically.” Earlier this year, China Tech Threat published a report showing that cyber-attacks against financial organizations are growing in frequency and severity and U.S. banks are the most targeted. It includes a series of proactive recommendations for banks to bolster their defenses.