Short Takes – 9-15-22

Long-distance passenger trains and grain shipments to be stopped, as rail strike looms. WashingtonPost.com article. Pull quote: “Still, political pressure is mounting on Democrats to agree to end the standoff. White House aides have in recent days examined the potentially drastic impact on the nation’s drinking water and energy supplies that could come from a shutdown.” This is complicated and Washington does not do complicated well on a deadline.

Tentative Rail Strike Deal Could Avert New England Winter Energy Crisis. Forbes.com opinion piece. Interesting look at energy transportation situation in Northeast.

Manufacturing defect, ineffective cathodic protection led to fatal 2019 pipeline explosion. HazardExOnTheNet.Net article. Pull quote: “The report said Enbridge underestimated the risk posed by hard spots because its processes and procedures were inconsistent with PHMSA guidance and industry knowledge of hard spot threat interaction.” NTSB report link.

McConnell, Rick Scott on collision course over spending deal. TheHill.com article. CR until December or after New Year? Pull quote: “McConnell allies say any omnibus package that passes next year in a Republican-controlled Congress will still have to be negotiated with Democrats — even if Republicans win back the Senate and House — because the legislation must overcome a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.”

Nation warned to brace for a difficult flu season. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the flu season for the past two years has essentially been “nonexistent” and added that this trend was always bound to end once social distancing became less practiced.”

EU Proposes Strict Cybersecurity Rules for Digital-Product Makers. WSJ.com article. Would include 5-year update support and SBOM requirements. Pull quote: “The draft rules include a list of 38 critical technology products required to obtain cybersecurity assessments from an independent body. Those products, which include software such as password managers and firewalls, and hardware such as microcontrollers, industrial internet-of-things devices and smart meters, were deemed critical in part because of the potential impact if they were hacked, the EU official told reporters last week. Still, the official said, around 90% of companies will likely be able to self-certify.”

Biden Tells Microsoft, Other Government Software Suppliers to Boost Cyber Defenses. Bloomberg.com article. New OMB guidance memo. Pull quote: “But the OMB rules immediately drew criticism from some cybersecurity experts who regard the requirements as too weak. Under the memo, producers of critical software must “self-attest” to federal agencies that they are in compliance with the new development standards.”

NHTSA: Uniform Procedures for State Highway Safety Grant Programs. Federal Register NPRM notice.

OSTP: Request for Information; Draft National Strategy on Microelectronics Research. Federal Register RFI Notice. Draft strategy document