Short Takes – 5-14-25

CVE Foundation eyes year-end launch following 11th-hour rescue of MITRE program. CyberScoop.com article. Pull quote: “In a LinkedIn post, Easterly accused CVE Foundation board members of duplicity, saying that “while sitting on the governing board of one of the most critical cybersecurity programs in the world, some members were ostensibly working in secret to build a separate organization to assume control of that very program. And they didn’t resign while doing so, given the obvious conflict of interest.””

Mike Johnson Contends With Republican Mistrust in Dash to Pass Tax Bill. WSJ.com article (free). Pull quote: “The perceived assurances to moderates rankled conservatives, who have been trying to lock in deeper cuts. Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York moderate, told freshman Texas Rep. Brandon Gill that GOP leadership had told him that the $1.5 trillion in promised cuts would be less severe, according to two House Republicans familiar with the matter. Gill, who is part of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus pushing for that level of spending cuts at a minimum, raised the alarm with his fellow group members as well as with leadership. Johnson, confronted on the matter, said Lawler was taking his comments out of context, the two lawmakers familiar with the matter said.”

Rogue communication devices found in Chinese solar power inverters. Reuters.com article. Pull quote: “"If you remotely control a large enough number of home solar inverters, and do something nefarious at once, that could have catastrophic implications to the grid for a prolonged period of time," said Uri Sadot, cyber security program director at Israeli inverter manufacturer SolarEdge.”