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Tag: Commerce Department

  • US Commerce Department and Google Join Forces to Develop Chips

    US Commerce Department and Google Join Forces to Develop Chips

    The US Commerce Department is teaming up with Google to develop chips for researchers and tech startups.

    The US is working to revitalize its semiconductor industry, recently passing the CHIPS Act, which set aside $52 billion to help companies fund the building and expansion of foundries and factories. Even before the passage of the bill, however, Google and the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were planning to collaborate on new chips for researchers.

    The goal is to make open source chips that are freely available to academia. While large companies often have access to whatever semiconductors they need, the same cannot be said for universities and independent researchers, whose budget is often far more limited. The new chips will specifically be aimed at helping researchers develop “new nanotechnology and semiconductor devices.”

    Under the terms of the deal, Google will fund the initial production of the chips, with Skywater Technology tasked with manufacturing them at its Bloomington, Minnesota foundry. For its part, NIST will be responsible for designing the chip circuitry.

    “By creating a new and affordable domestic supply of chips for research and development, this collaboration aims to unleash the innovative potential of researchers and startups across the nation,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio. “This is a great example of how government, industry and academic researchers can work together to enhance U.S. leadership in this critically important industry.”

  • Trump Administration Blocking More Companies From Selling to Huawei

    Trump Administration Blocking More Companies From Selling to Huawei

    The Trump administration is moving to revoke the licenses of companies previously cleared to sell products to Huawei.

    The US has engaged in a coordinated effort to isolate Huawei, citing national security concerns. The company is widely believed to have close ties with the Chinese government and intelligence apparatus. While all Chinese firms are required to cooperate with the government, Huawei’s ties are seen as closer than most.

    US officials have already banned Huawei, and pressured allies to do the same, with many following suit. The US even modified the Entity List and Foreign Direct Product Rule to cut the company off from suppliers, including those in other countries that rely on US technology. This resulted in Huawei losing access to chips from TSMC, Samsung and SK Hynix. In spite of that, some companies were granted licenses that allowed them to continue doing business with Huawei, such as Intel and Qualcomm.

    It appears the administration is preparing to revoke a number of those licenses, as well as deny additional applications, according to Reuters. One of the main companies impacted is Intel, with their license being one of the ones revoked.

    Reuters saw an email by the Semiconductor Industry Association, in which it said the Commerce Department intends “to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei and a revocation of at least one previously issued license.”

    It remains to be seen if the incoming Biden administration will take the same hard stance against Huawei but, for the time being, this is another major blow to the Chinese firm.

  • Organizations Compromised in SolarWind Supply Chain Attack

    Organizations Compromised in SolarWind Supply Chain Attack

    FireEye has uncovered a sophisticated intrusion campaign against government and corporate organizations, using a supply chain attack.

    Supply chain attacks are one of the most sophisticated types of hacks in existence. While many hacks rely on convincing a target to download malicious software, a supply chain attack involves inserting malicious code in legitimate software before it’s distributed to customers, hence attacking the software supply chain.

    The attack in question uses a compromised update to SolarWind’s Orion IT monitoring and management software, with FireEye calling the compromised version “SUNBURST.” The trojanized version is incredibly sophisticated, using various methods to avoid detection, all the while communicating with third-party servers.

    “After an initial dormant period of up to two weeks, it retrieves and executes commands, called “Jobs”, that include the ability to transfer files, execute files, profile the system, reboot the machine, and disable system services,” writes FireEye’s team. “The malware masquerades its network traffic as the Orion Improvement Program (OIP) protocol and stores reconnaissance results within legitimate plugin configuration files allowing it to blend in with legitimate SolarWinds activity. The backdoor uses multiple obfuscated blocklists to identify forensic and anti-virus tools running as processes, services, and drivers.”

    The trojan has enabled hackers to monitor email communications at the US Treasury and Commerce departments, according to Reuters. FireEye says victims have also “included government, consulting, technology, telecom and extractive entities in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.” Since the attack is actively in progress, FireEye suspects there will be additional victims as well.

    To mitigate the attack, “SolarWinds recommends all customers immediately upgrade to Orion Platform release 2020.2.1 HF 1, which is currently available via the SolarWinds Customer Portal. In addition, SolarWinds has released additional mitigation and hardening instructions here.”

    If an organization is not able to update, FireEye has outlined additional mitigation steps that should be taken.

  • TikTok Gains Reprieve Judge As Judge Blocks Ban

    TikTok Gains Reprieve Judge As Judge Blocks Ban

    The deadline for ByteDance to complete the sale of TikTok has come and gone, but a judge has blocked the ban, giving the company more time.

    The Trump administration labeled TikTok a security and privacy threat, threatening to ban it unless ByteDance sold its US operations to an American company. A date was set for the ban, although Oracle—partnered with Walmart—quickly emerged as the buyer.

    The deal almost immediately ran into issues, however, as Oracle was only buying a 20% stake in the company, not the full ownership Trump had wanted. At the same time, China changed its export rules to block selling what it deemed sensitive technology, including the algorithm that forms the backbone of the social media platform.

    To make matters worse, TikTok accused the government of not communicating with it, despite repeated attempts to meet the administration’s demands. This led the Commerce Department to signal it would not move to enforce the ban immediately.

    Now a judge has stepped in to ensure TikTok’s ban won’t go into effect. According to CNET, District Judge Carl Nichols said the government had “likely overstepped” its authority in its attempts to ban TikTok.

    While the Commerce Department said it will cooperate with the judge’s order, it is now saying it will “vigorously defend” the ban.

  • Trump Administration May Restrict Global Cloud Computing Companies

    Trump Administration May Restrict Global Cloud Computing Companies

    The White House is considering an executive order that would limit how cloud computing companies can operate internationally.

    Cloud computing has experienced meteoric growth since the coronavirus pandemic, as companies have migrated workflows to the cloud in order to support a remote workforce. With the rise in popularity, however, security risks have become more of a factor.

    There is additional cause for concern when domestic cloud providers partner with providers in a foreign country—especially providers in countries such as China, that have a reputation for state-sponsored hacking.

    As a result, according to POLITICO , the White House is preparing an executive order that would give the Commerce Department the authority to “prohibit U.S. cloud providers from partnering with foreign cloud companies that offer safe haven to hackers and give the Commerce secretary the ability to ban those foreign providers from operating in the U.S.”

    Should the White House move forward with the executive order, it will no doubt ratchet up the trade war with China, and may result in further retaliation.

  • TSMC Cuts Off Huawei Following Us Factory Announcement

    TSMC Cuts Off Huawei Following Us Factory Announcement

    TSMC has stopped taking chip orders from Huawei following its plans to open a US factory.

    TSMC made headlines last week when it announced it was building a factory in Arizona. The factory, slated to begin construction in 2021, will begin production in 2024. The move is aimed at helping increase US-based semiconductor manufacturing and minimizing dependance on overseas factories.

    Meanwhile, the US has ramped up its war against Huawei, a company it accuses of helping Beijing spy on governments around the world. The latest effort was an announcement by the Commerce Department on May 15 that it was modifying the Entity List and Foreign Direct Product Rule to ban Huawei from buying semiconductors that use US technology, even those made by foreign companies.

    In view of the announcement, a source told Nikkei Asian Review that ”TSMC has stopped taking new orders from Huawei after the new rule change was announced to fully comply with the latest export control regulation. But those already in production and those orders which TSMC took before the new ban are not impacted and could continue to proceed if those chips could be shipped before mid-September.”

    Huawei was already beginning to feel the pressure from the US bans before this development and had warned of fallout if this measure was taken. The next few months should be interesting.

  • Huawei Moves Research to Canada, Urges Suppliers to Break U.S. Law

    Huawei Moves Research to Canada, Urges Suppliers to Break U.S. Law

    The battle between Huawei and the U.S. shows no signs of abating. In fact, Huawei is making moves that will likely ratchet up the war even further.

    Huawei’s CEO, Ren Zhengfei, told the Toronto Globe and Mail in a video interview that Huawei is moving its research facilities from the U.S. to Canada. Zhengfei acknowledged the company does not have much of a presence in the U.S., but does not want to give up on any one country due to a dispute.

    Zhengfei said in the interview that the relocation to Canada would be a gradual one, but was necessary as a result of the sanctions.

    “Because of the sanctions, we are not allowed to communicate with our employees in America. No phone calls. No e-mails. No contacts. Huawei’s development has been blocked in America, and therefore we are moving our business to Canada.”

    Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that the company has been encouraging suppliers to break the law to work around U.S. sanctions against Huawei.

    Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross told Reuters the U.S. government is frustrated by the limitations of blacklisting, since it does nothing to prevent overseas suppliers from selling to Huawei.

    Ross said Huawei has “been openly advocating companies to move their production offshore to get around the fact that we put Huawei on the list. Anybody who does move the product out specifically to avoid the sanction… that’s a violation of U.S. law. So here you have Huawei encouraging American suppliers to violate the law.”

    It’s safe to say the U.S. will likely be looking at additional options to punish Huawei.

  • China Moving Toward Stronger Intellectual Property Protections

    China Moving Toward Stronger Intellectual Property Protections

    CNN is reporting that China is investigating stronger measures to protect intellectual property rights.

    Intellectual property (IP) has been one of the battlegrounds in the U.S. and China’s trade war. China has a long history of lax IP protections, especially for foreign companies. Many a company has had their IP stolen after doing business with Chinese companies, with one in five reporting their IP stolen within the last year.

    In response, the Trump administration has considered using the Commerce Department’s “entity list” to blacklist Chinese companies who repeatedly steal IP and violate U.S. patent and copyright laws. While the entity list is usually reserved for companies deemed a military or terrorist threat, the Trump administration has argued that economic security is part of national security as a whole, thereby making companies who damage it with illegal or unethical behavior a national security threat.

    It now appears the Chinese government may be ready to make concessions. According to CNN, China “has unveiled new guidelines about the protection of intellectual property, a move that could mark a big step toward appeasing the United States, and may even help pave the way for a long-awaited trade truce.

    “Beijing’s announcement Sunday was short on detail, though the country did indicate that it could introduce stronger IP protections and toughen punishments on those who infringe them. Such measures could address a concern that Washington has been railing on for ages.”

    According to Reuters, “the document said that by 2022, China should be making progress in issues that have affected intellectual property rights enforcement, such as low compensation, high costs, and the difficulty of proof. By 2025, there should be a better system of protection in place.”

  • Online Privacy Debate Heats Up With FTC And Commerce Dept. Reports Coming Soon

    To say online privacy is a controversial area is an understatement. It’s always been challenging but has gotten even more so with the rise of social networks, online shopping, and targeted advertising.

    The companies involved blame the consumers for not utilizing the tools that are in place. Consumers, on the other hand, think that companies need to be clearer on what they’re collecting and how they can opt-out if they want.

    Should consumers or companies be blamed for online privacy concerns? Is one side at fault, or is it both, or neither? What do you think?

    The debate over these areas is heating up again with the Commerce Department and the FTC expected to release reports on how to improve online privacy in the next couple of weeks. WebProNews spoke with Jules Polonetsky, the Director of the Future of Privacy Forum, who told us that the Commerce Department’s report was worth noting since it would outline where the Obama administration stands on the issue. Interestingly, no acting President or administration has ever before introduced or endorsed a federal privacy law.

    Polonetsky told us that it was “highly unlikely” the U.S. would see privacy legislation this year but said that it would happen in the future.

    “I think it’s clear that we are… eventually going to have a privacy law,” he said. “The question is, whether it’s gonna be a good one.”

    “If we are able to craft privacy law that supports innovation [and] gives users more protection, we’ll win,” he added.

    According to Polonetsky, the goal of the Commerce Department and President is to create a framework, in which companies and advocates develop rules for their own industries. If the FTC thinks these rules are adequate, they can create a safe harbor and make them enforceable.

    There are, however, questions that remain since the administration may target certain companies and topics. In addition, there is the question of whether companies and consumer advocacy groups will agree to work together.

    Up to this point, many of the people and groups that have spoken out against privacy legislation have said that tools already exist that allow consumers to take control. While Polonetsky said that consumers should be more proactive when it comes to sharing data and using online tools, he also said that companies should make it easy for consumers.

    “If companies really got serious about delivering first for users, we wouldn’t need some of the proposals that are out there,” he said.

    Through his experience as Chief Privacy Officer for both AOL and DoubleClick, Polonetsky told us that some companies understand privacy concerns and some don’t. There are also companies that want to “push the envelope” in a way that encourages others to do so as well.

    Some companies believe that a self-regulatory approach would be much better than federal legislation, but according to the FTC’s first draft, the self-regulatory measures in place at that time were inadequate. Polonetsky said that, if companies really are against a national law, they need to prove that they are self-regulating.

    “Any company that wants to avoid legislation ought to be really pushing to show how it is self-regulating,” he said.

    On the consumer side, some don’t mind the tracking when it benefits them. For instance, many Amazon users like that the company sends them deals for items they want to buy.

    “Let the users in, and guess what, they may be more than happy for you to know them well, if what you’re doing is making money serving them well,” Polonetsky pointed out.

    Another angle to this saga is the fact that the European Commission is reportedly going to change its privacy directive as well. Polonetsky told us that the White House and Commerce Department pay attention to what Europe is doing because, over there, privacy is considered a human right. Historically, whatever Europe puts into law, the other countries follow suit. For this reason, the U.S. wants to show Europe that it is serious about privacy.

    Although Polonetsky does not expect a privacy law during 2012, he did tell us that the year would bring lots of scrutiny for companies and lots of hearings.

    “I’ve never seen as much scrutiny,” he said.

    Even though the debate is nowhere near being over, the FTC and Commerce Department reports should shed some light into what we can expect going forward.

    Are you in favor of privacy legislation, or would you prefer self-regulation in industries? Let us know.