Short Takes – 6-17-23

‘Trump can’t win’: Koch network releases ads targeting ex-president. CNBC.com article. Problems in Republican money circles. Pull quote: “All of the Koch digital ads cite public polling that say how key voters don’t want Trump to be president again. Many of those same polls also show that many voters don’t want Biden to run for a second term, either. An NBC News poll taken in April shows that 70% of those polled say Biden shouldn’t run for reelection, with another 60% saying Trump shouldn’t run.”

Power plants remain vulnerable to outages in extreme cold, despite warnings, FERC and NERC find. UtilityDive.com article. Pull quote: ““I believe this is a reliability gap,” Phillips said during a media briefing. “I, once again, call for some entity to have responsibility for the gas system’s reliability. It doesn’t have to be FERC, but someone needs to have responsibility for that.””

For the first time in decades, Congress seems interested in space-based solar power. ArsTechnica.com article. Pull quote: “NASA could do with a little prodding on the subject. Last year, at the International Space Development Conference, a NASA official said the agency had begun a short-term study evaluating the prospects of space-based solar power. This was the agency's first real look at the subject in about two decades. However, that study has not been released publicly, as there were apparently some policy concerns about the first draft. The revised study may finally be released in late June or July.”

New COVID shots will target dominant version of XBB strain. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “It’s a similar strategy to how scientists develop the annual flu shot, though the different strains of XBB are similar enough to each other that even if the shot isn’t an exact match, it will be close enough to provide cross-protection from severe disease and keep people out of the hospital.”

GOP unrest: Conservatives threaten to tank party’s 2024 spending bills. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The opposition is significant because Democrats are already up in arms that McCarthy is targeting 2024 spending figures below the caps he negotiated with President Biden in this month’s debt ceiling agreement. They’re vowing to oppose any appropriations bills that fall below those figures — leaving McCarthy with little room for GOP defections given the Republicans’ slim House majority.”

CISA Order Highlights Persistent Risk at Network Edge. KrebsOnSecurity.com article. Pull quote: ““The only stuff available in the market was all this old [VPN and ESG] crap that is not QA’d properly, and every time you shake them CVEs fall out,” Gray remarked, calling the pandemic, “a shot in the arm” to companies like Fortinet and Barracuda.”

Pyramid Builders. Billions spent on useless defense fortifications. TheIns.ru article. No guarantee of information accuracy. Pull quote: “According to British military intelligence, Russia has, since the summer of 2022, constructed one of the most extensive fortification systems observed in recent decades, quite possibly since World War II. These fortifications are not only present on the front lines but also extend to the rear areas and along the “old” Russian-Ukrainian border. The exceptional dedication invested in establishing long-term defensive lines, their strategic placement, and the chosen configurations offer valuable insights into the Russian command's strategy and their prevailing priorities in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.”

National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) Cybersecurity for the Water and Wastewater Sector: A Practical Reference Design for Mitigating Cyber Risk in Water and Wastewater Systems. Federal Register NIST Demonstration Notice. Summary: “The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites organizations to provide letters of interest describing products and technical expertise to support and demonstrate security platforms for the Cybersecurity for the Water and Wastewater Sector: A Practical Reference Design for Mitigating Cyber Risk in Water and Wastewater Systems project. This notice is the initial step for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with technology companies to address cybersecurity challenges identified under the Cybersecurity for the Water and Wastewater Sector: A Practical Reference Design for Mitigating Cyber Risk in Water and Wastewater Systems project. Participation in the project is open to all interested organizations.” Deadline: July 20^th, 2023.

Request for Applicants for Appointment to the Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee. Federal Register TSA Committee Nomination Notice. Summary: “The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is requesting applications from individuals who are interested in being appointed to serve on the Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee (STSAC). All applicants must represent one of the constituencies specified below in order to be eligible for appointment. STSAC's mission is to provide advice, consultation, and recommendations to the TSA Administrator on improving surface transportation security matters, including developing, refining, and implementing policies, programs, initiatives, rulemakings, and security directives pertaining to surface transportation security, while adhering to sensitive security information requirements. The STSAC considers risk-based approaches in the performance of its duties.”