Short Takes – 12-5-22

Power outages in North Carolina caused by gunfire in ‘malicious’ attack. TheHill.com article. Physical not cyber attack. Pull quote: “Two substations run by Duke Energy, a Charlotte-based electric power and natural gas company, were damaged by the shootings, Fields said.”

GOP seeks to play hardball on annual defense bill. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Rogers separately told The Hill that a draft of the negotiated bill should be brought to the floor by the House by Tuesday.”

Railroads Focus on Stabilizing Workforce After Strike Is Averted. WSJ.com article. Business analysts look at railroad service issues. Pull quote: ““Railroads said they’re all trying to grow, to add more head count, but ultimately, they can’t really create new demand. They’re just trying to match their plans, their assets, with what’s coming to the network. As you can imagine, it’s quite hard,” said Brian Ossenbeck, an analyst at JPMorgan.”

SKA: Construction to begin on world's biggest telescope. BBC.com article. Largest radio telescope. Pull quote: “The first major milestone should come in 2024, when four dishes in Australia and six antenna stations in South Africa are made to work seamlessly together as a basic telescope. This proof-of-principle moment will then trigger the array's full roll-out.”

Industry Coalition Urges Congress to Hold off on SBOM Requirements for Defense Contractors. Infosecurity-Magazine.com article. Letter responding to proposed requirement in HR 7900 which is no longer being considered by Congress. Pull quote: “The letter stated: “SBOMs are expected to help organizations reduce cyber risk, but they will need processes, tools and standards to translate SBOMs into improved cybersecurity outcomes. Governments, industry and other stakeholders are already working to develop these processes, tools and standards – efforts that are progressing at an impressive pace. The most constructive step Congress can take to help SBOMs deliver their anticipated benefits is to support this ongoing work and ensure that future laws requiring SBOMs are harmonized across the US government.””