Jimm Phillips

A pair of controversial National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs that collect phone metadata and user data from online services have helped prevent “potential terrorist events over 50 times since 9/11,” NSA Director Keith Alexander told a House Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday. At least 10 of those threats involved U.S. targets, though Alexander and other intelligence officials only disclosed details of two new cases Tuesday. The programs are “immensely valuable for protecting our nation and securing the security of our allies,” Alexander said. Most members of the committee defended the programs Tuesday, with Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., a former FBI agent, inviting Alexander and other officials to dispel the “laundry list” of “incomplete information” that has circulated since news of the programs leaked earlier this month.

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai urged Congress to “permanently” exclude cellphone firmware unlocking from the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The librarian of Congress declined in October to renew a three-year exemption that excluded unlocking from prosecution under the DMCA, meaning consumers who unlock their mobile devices could face civil and criminal penalties. “This is a classic case of the government solving a problem that doesn’t exist,” Pai said Monday at a joint TechFreedom-Competitive Enterprise Institute event. Contract-law rights, including early termination fees, already ensure subscribers fulfill contracts with the carriers, he said. “Adding heavy-handed copyright penalties, including hefty criminal fines, marries the sledgehammer to the fly,” Pai said. Congress is already considering at least four bills that would address the issue -- the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act (HR-1123), the Unlocking Technology Act (HR-1892), the Wireless Device Independence Act (S-467) and the Wireless Consumer Choice Act (S-481).

The growing furor last week over the implications of National Security Agency surveillance programs that collect phone metadata and data from online services included a growing number of lawsuits aimed at stopping the programs. Although most of the lawsuits targeted the NSA and the rest of the U.S. intelligence community, at least two class-action suits also involved the telecom and Internet companies from which the government collected data. Judicial Watch founder Larry Klayman, the lead plaintiff in those lawsuits, claimed the companies are as complicit as the government in violating their subscribers’ constitutional rights. A former federal prosecutor who has handled telecom cases at the federal and state levels told us existing legal precedents will make it difficult for Klayman to prevail over the companies, and are likely to preclude others from bringing similar challenges.

Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency (NSA), told the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday that a pair of controversial NSA surveillance programs was “the right thing to do” to protect Americans, saying “what we are doing does protect Americans’ civil liberties.” Alexander is also commander of the U.S. Cyber Command. NSA’s collection of phone metadata and user data from online services came to light last week following leaks from now-former Booz Allen contractor Edward Snowden (CD June 10 p5). Alexander said during the hearing Wednesday, his first public comments since the leaks, that he wants to disclose further information on the programs to the public -- but he wants to consult further with the U.S. intelligence community to prevent any public information from hurting U.S. security. “We aren’t trying to hide it,” he said.

The FCC released an order Thursday approving Progeny’s controversial E-911 locator service for commercial use in the 902-928 MHz band. Commissioner Ajit Pai voted in favor of the order earlier this week, making commission approval unanimous, as expected (CD June 6 p9).

President Barack Obama directed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to begin creating rules to require patent applicants and patent owners to “regularly” update the ownership information on file at PTO when they are involved in PTO proceedings. The rules are targeted at making “real party in interest” (RPI) disclosure a default action. Obama also directed PTO to develop strategies over the next six months to improve patent claim clarity, particularly in software-related patent applications, and train patent examiners on scrutinizing functional claims. The White House said it will build on the roundtables and workshops that PTO, the Department of Justice and the FTC held last year, announcing it would hold a series of “high-profile events” over the next six months aimed at outreach on patent-related issues and policy updates. PTO will also expand its Edison Scholars Program, which brings in scholars to work at the agency for six-month periods, to develop additional research on patent litigation abuse. PTO also unveiled a set of new education and outreach materials aimed at answering questions from the targets of abusive patent litigation (http://1.usa.gov/15yx9EC).

The House Judiciary and Senate Judiciary committees ended May with four separate bills under consideration that would address a series of issues related to abusive patent litigation that the America Invents Act (AIA) was not able to address. A fifth bill is waiting in the wings. Officials from industry groups that have been pushing for the reforms told us the current versions of the bills offer great ideas and starting points for discussion, but also believe a definitive solution will require more work.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) approved Japan-based SoftBank’s bid to buy 70 percent ownership of Sprint Nextel, the two carriers confirmed Wednesday (http://bit.ly/117byQ5). The multi-agency committee decided there were no unresolved national security issues related to the deal, despite recent concerns voiced by lawmakers and another company competing for control of Sprint. The FCC’s review is the deal’s remaining regulatory barrier -- which Medley Global Advisors analyst Jeffrey Silva predicted will be removed “within days."

The National Institute of Standards and Technology hopes its second cybersecurity framework workshop will conclude with an “initial consensus” on standards to be included in the industry-developed framework, said Director Patrick Gallagher Wednesday. NIST expects participants at the event, which is being webcast and continues through Friday at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, to begin creating the initial set of standards, best practices and procedures that will be included in the voluntary framework. NIST and the Department of Homeland Security are leading development of the framework as directed by President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order (CD Feb 14 p1). The participants will also begin identifying themes that cut across the different critical infrastructure sectors that are involved in the framework’s development. Participants will base their discussions on the comments NIST collected in its initial request for information, as well as a NIST analysis of those comments that identifies common themes and issues (http://1.usa.gov/10u8IYf). It’s important that the workshop result in a “best in class” initial consensus because the workshop’s output will directly affect what’s discussed at the next workshop, scheduled to run from July 10-12 at the University of California, San Diego, Gallagher said. “These workshops must build on each other.” NIST hopes the July workshop will be able to focus on selecting framework components, said Adam Sedgewick, NIST senior information technology policy advisor. A fourth workshop, to occur in September, will help finalize what’s included in the draft framework that goes public in October, he said. While there will eventually need to be a consensus on the entire framework, “not all of the discussions this week will meet with unanimous consent,” Gallagher said. A lack of consensus in some areas is fine, however, because “the framework will be better if we bring in all viewpoints” at this stage in its development, he said. NIST’s role is only to support the industry participants, not to “choose or develop particular standards or solutions,” Gallagher said. “This is your work product, not ours.”

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) second workshop to develop the Cybersecurity Framework, set to begin Wednesday, will delve deeper into actually creating the framework, industry officials said. NIST and the Department of Homeland Security are working with industries considered to be components of the U.S.’s critical infrastructure to draft the voluntary framework as directed by President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order (CD Feb 14 p1). Participants are expected to begin creating the initial set of standards, best practices and procedures that will be included in the draft version of the Framework that’s expected to go public in October (http://1.usa.gov/Z5zzJD).