Recently, Microsoft made thestunning admissionthat Russian-based hackers breached its systems and gained weeks-long access to the emails and accounts of senior executives. For the U.S. government, which overwhelmingly relies on Microsoft products, these incidents amount to a five-alarm fire about the security of one of its largest technology partners.
Nation-state hackers that attack our government and the vendors it relies on pose a clear threat to our national security. Now is the time to move beyond criticism and actually hold government technology contractors with repeated cybersecurity issues accountable.
Much like efforts to hold the defense industry accountable, Congress should consider a wide range of options, from demanding higher baseline cybersecurity standards to incentive payments that reward effective cybersecurity. To jumpstart progress, Congress must hold Microsoft accountable and press the administration to pause additional funding for Microsoft IT contracts until the company gets its security house in order.
As one of the U.S. federal government’s primary technology vendors, Microsoft should hold itself to a higher cybersecurity standard. Indeed, the company has touted itself repeatedly as one of the leaders in global cybersecurity. Microsoft holds an 85 percent market share in the U.S. government’s productivity software, provides cybersecurity services to the U.S. government and its allies and serves highly classified workloads on its Azure cloud service — responsibilities that make Microsoft a primary target for nation-state activity. Yet, the cavalier attitude Microsoft takes toward product security has resulted in multiple, successful nation-state cyberattacks against the IT software our government agencies depend upon.
In this most recent incident, Microsoft failed to protect itself against a password spray attack, a simple breach tactic avoidable even by rudimentary cybersecurity measures. The fact that this hack could have been stopped by implementing basic cybersecurity best practices is egregious and representative of the company’s cultural failures in its approach to cybersecurity in general. The incident comes on the heels of a breach of Microsoft’s systems by Chinese state-sponsored hackers in July that compromised the accounts of several top lawmakers, including those of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.
The threats posed by nation-state actors have been clear to IT vendors for many years.
The Russian hacking group known as Nobelium and Midnight Blizzard was the same outfit responsible for the infamous 2020 SolarWinds attack, in which the group exploited flaws in Microsoft technology to access the data of over 30,000 organizations, including major federal, state and local government agencies. Microsoft’s failure to fix known problems in its cloud software, which allowed hackers to exploit a major backdoor in third-party vendors reliant on Microsoft systems, drew significant backlash from elected officials concerned that Microsoft was either unwilling or incapable of ensuring the products they provide to our government are safe and reliable.
We need to hold our providers of software to the security standards we need, as cybersecurity threats become more sophisticated — especially those from nation-state actors. In any other industry, a recurring issue that threatens the safety and security of the American public — a plane failure, a contaminated food product, or an oil spill to name a few — would be grounds for immediate investigation of the company and products in question. Why then do we let the IT companies that serve the government off the hook?
The Department of Justice’s 2021 Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative utilizes the False Claims Act to pursue cybersecurity-related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients. Perhaps it is time for the department to take a serious look at software vendors who continue to provide products to the federal government that fall far short on security and safety and actually increase our vulnerabilities to Russian, Chinese and other nation-state actors who wish us ill. The well-known quote that the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result” certainly applies to the government’s approach with Microsoft products. We keep expecting that Microsoft will get its security house in order, yet they continue to fall dangerously short.
The Biden administration must take serious action to hold the government’s largest software provider accountable and pause new funding for Microsoft’s products until they see a different result on security. Otherwise, we will keep living through the insanity of relying upon vulnerable software that places our nation at risk.
Roger Cressey served in counterterrorism and cybersecurity positions in the White House under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. He is currently a partner at Liberty Group Ventures, LLC, where he advises clients, including Google Cloud, on matters of cybersecurity.
A man who served as a State Department security officer was arrested Tuesday by the FBI on four charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Kevin Alstrup, whose current status at the department is unclear, was arrested in Washington and faces four misdemeanor charges, including disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, unlawful picket and parading, entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly conduct in the Capitol building.
The Hill has reached out to the State Department for comment.
According to the arrest affidavit, the FBI obtained information that Alstrup was employed by the State Department after his address appeared in response to a government search warrant for devices that were located inside the Capitol building during the insurrection.
“FBI personnel also determined that Alstrup, as part of his employment, is familiar with providing security and protection for high-ranking government officials or sensitive locations, like embassies,” the bureau wrote.
The affidavit noted that photos of Alstrup inside the Capitol during the riots were shared with his supervisor, who confirmed his identity.
Alstrup spent approximately 28 minutes inside the Capitol, according to the arrest warrant. During that time, he was seen photographing rioters who were entering and exiting the building while they were all being told by Capitol police officers to leave the building.
After three years of investigations, more than 1,200 individuals have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol. At least 730 of them have pleaded guilty.
A Senate subcommittee grilled executives from Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, M. Klein & Company and Teneo Tuesday on their company’s compliance with congressional subpoenas related to their work with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The PIF filed lawsuits in Saudi Arabia against each of the four U.S.-based contractors last fall in what the leaders of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations described as an attempt to “hamper” their inquiry, which they warn could weaken powers of congressional oversight.
“Saudi Arabia has laws protecting that type of information and apply serious criminal penalties on those who disclose it without permission. We risk criminal and financial penalties for the firm and for individuals working or living in Saudi Arabia,” said Rich Lesser, global chair at Boston Consulting Group, during his opening statement.
Executives from all four companies — Lesser; Bob Sternfels, global managing partner McKinsey & Company; Michael Klein of M. Klein & Company; and Paul Keary, chief executive officer at Teneo — said the PIF remains a client even after it sued their companies in Saudi court.
But Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who chairs the subcommittee, wasn’t buying it.
“The position that I’ve heard expressed today is essentially that you will comply with the subpoena but only and solely so far as Saudi Arabia allows you to do so, which is not compliance with this subpoena,” Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.
“You’ve chosen the Saudi side, not the Americans’.”
PIF officials have repeatedly refused to testify before the subcommittee.
In a statement released ahead of the hearing, the PIF said, “We have been and are committed to working with the Subcommittee in good faith in a manner that is consistent with PIF’s status and obligations as an instrumentality of Saudi Arabia. We have made, and are continuing to make, significant efforts to facilitate the production of requested information from our advisors consistent with the laws of Saudi Arabia, which should be recognized like those of any other country.”
Blumenthal acknowledged the companies have shared thousands of pages of documents with the subcommittee, but noted that many of them are press clippings or public documents.
At one point, he held up almost entirely redacted documents shared with the subcommittee, which he called “laughable.”
“At the end of the day, what the American people want to know is whether American companies will put American national interests before anyone else’s. And the reason you are all here today is because your response to these subpoenas seems to really call that into question,” Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said.
The PIF said that it has “invested nearly $60 billion in the United States since 2017” in the statement.
The committee has been investigating Saudi investments in the U.S. as a tool of influence in the wake of the surprising announcement last spring that the PIF-backed LIV Golf and the PGA Tour were pursuing a deal to create a new golf monolith.
The PIF has disputed the subcommittee’s characterization of their engagement with the investigation, which they argue is overly broad.
“The need to safeguard these interests only grew when the Subcommittee significantly changed course and began an inquiry far broader than the Framework Agreement, or golf, or sports investment. Rather, the Subcommittee seeks access to any and all records prepared in connection with every interest, investment and even contemplated investment the PIF has outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Raphael Prober, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld who serves as counsel to the PIF, said in a previously undisclosed letter dated Feb. 2.
Prober accused the committee of “attempting to end run around well-established principles of extraterritoriality, sovereignty, and international comity by seeking access to the PIF’s information through its U.S.-based advisors and consultants.”
In a letter to PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan dated Jan. 29, Blumenthal and Ranking Member Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) argued subpoenaing U.S. businesses as part of a congressional inquiry is a “common investigative practice.”
Johnson, who has been skeptical of the subcommittee’s role in investigating the proposed deal, said he had “sympathy” for the consultants but “no sympathy for the Saudi claims of sovereign immunity in this inquiry.”
If the PIF’s legal push succeeds, “the PSI’s ability to access records weakens, the power of the subcommittee will be reduced and congressional oversight will atrophy further,” Johnson said.
The subcommittee “has never ever ceded to blanket, sweeping claims of foreign sovereign immunity over commercial documents in the possession of an American company,” Blumenthal emphasized during the hearing.
Teneo was the only company represented at today’s hearing that is registered under the Department of Justice’s Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) for work on behalf of the PIF.
Blumethal told The Hill after the hearing that “we probably need to strengthen” FARA.
“That’s one of the committee findings that is emerging from this investigation,” he said.
Our net zero lesson of the day is from the U.K. but it applies universally. It’s increasingly difficult for Biden and the EU to hide the true costs of net zero mandates.
Britain Boiler Tax Scandal
In the latest green fiasco, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak created a quota system that would require manufacturers to sell more heat pumps to households.
Instead of meekly complying with the regulation as happens with Biden administration EPA announcements, manufacturers let consumers know they would have to pay up whether they installed the heat pumps or not.
Manufacturers correctly dubbed the scheme a “boiler tax” and consumer outrage killed the regulation.
Most English households use natural gas to fuel the cabinet-sized boilers that provide central heating and hot water, and forcing them to adopt electric heat pumps (ultimately powered by renewable energy) is part of the government’s net-zero agenda.
An earlier proposal to ban gas-boiler sales after 2035 proved politically toxic as households balked at the cost of replacing their reliable natural-gas boilers with more expensive, untested heat pumps. So politicians resorted to subterfuge, imposing a sales quota on manufacturers. Starting in April, heat pumps would have to replace 4% of annual boiler sales or companies would pay a £3,000 fine for each “excess” natural-gas boiler they sold.
Worcester Bosch, Britain’s leading manufacturer, warned last year that the proposed quota would add up to £300 ($376) to the cost of natural-gas boilers, which retail for £1,000 and up.
A novelty is that industry fought back against the mandate. Manufacturers were transparent about passing the cost of the heat-pump fines to consumers, calling it a “boiler tax.” Mr. Sunak’s government tried to blame the companies for anticompetitive behavior. But when voters realized they’d be stuck paying for heat pumps even if they didn’t buy them, it was game over for the rule.
Biden’s Wind Tax
In the US, manufacturers have yet to stand up to idiotic Biden regulations, mostly because they have received tax incentives that hide the true costs.
But the actual costs are difficult to hide now that subsidies won’t hide the true cost. So Biden’s schemes are unraveling.
When President Joe Biden in 2021 laid out a target of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity during the next nine years, the plan was deemed bold and ambitious. Best of all, many saw it as within reach.
Two years later, the industry has another word for it: impossible.
After a cascading series of setbacks, from sobering cost revisions to billions in possible impairment charges, the US offshore wind industry’s 2030 generation goal now looks further away than ever.
The Biden administration is facing increasing pressure to take action to bolster the offshore wind industry after a major project was canceled in New Jersey on Tuesday, although options appear limited to ease financial hurdles facing developers.
Developers are taking billion-dollar losses due to the industry’s exploding costs and the dropping value of assets. Two companies in Massachusetts walked away from deals that they said did not cover costs. New York regulators rebuffed attempts to renegotiate contracts with wind companies for higher prices, casting uncertainty over the future of several wind farms off the state’s coast. Meanwhile, the supply chain of businesses to support offshore wind construction has expanded too slowly to meet the needs of proposals.
But the starkest sign of a troubled sector came Tuesday, when Ørsted, the largest offshore wind developer in the U.S. market, said it will abandon its Ocean Wind project. The two-phased wind array off the Jersey coast was one of just five major offshore wind projects approved in the U.S. — all by the Biden administration. Along with creating more uncertainty for the industry, the cancellation is raising speculation over whether other projects will follow.
Defending the administration’s record, White House spokesperson Michael Kikukawa said Biden has “used every available tool to advance the growing American offshore wind industry.”
Outright Lies Are Biden’s Biggest Tool
Without a doubt, Biden has “used every available tool to advance the growing American offshore wind industry.”
His biggest tool is a pack of lies starting with a claim that these projects are cheaper and will pay for themselves.
Downgrades and Write Offs
Fitch Ratings downgraded Eversource Energy and its NSTAR Electric utility subsidiary from stable to negative, partly on the grounds that the company may struggle to unload three offshore wind projects it had wanted to sell.
Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, BP’s head of gas and low-carbon energy, told attendees at a London conference that the U.S. offshore wind sector was “fundamentally broken” and in need of a reset.
BP has taken a pretax impairment charge — a devaluing of an asset — of $540 million due to its New York offshore wind projects.
Norwegian oil and gas giant Equinor said last month it was taking a $300 million impairment in its U.S. offshore wind portfolio. Ørsted could take a $5 billion hit.
Even with massive subsidies, these projects are not economical. All they do is replace one form of energy with another at increasing costs that must be born by someone.
Let’s accurately label this fiasco for what it really is: A mandate to use wind, then a wind tax to support it.
On Feb. 1, 2023, the DOE issued its original proposal which was set to take effect in 2027 and impact a staggering 50% of current gas stove models. The DOE argued it is required to put forth such regulations under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act which mandates energy efficiency rules while not harming consumer choice.
In response, Republicans and consumer advocacy organizations blasted the Biden administration for curbing consumer choice and pushing a regulatory regime that would lead to higher prices. They also criticized the DOE for attempting to force Americans to electrify their homes in an effort to reduce emissions and fight global warming.
“President Biden is committed to using all the tools at the Administration’s disposal to lower costs for American families and deliver healthier communities — including energy efficiency measures like the one announced today,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement [after the administration backed off the proposal].
Gas Stove Tax
Let’s label the Biden administration proposal for what it really is, a tax on gas stoves.
Biden then had the audacity to brag about lowering costs when he backed off the proposal.
Tax This, Tax That, Tax Everything
Up and down the line, we need to label the green regulations and mandates from this administration for what they really are: Across the board tax hikes.
And since these these taxes apply to everyone, not just the wealthy, they are very regressive in nature.
We have wind taxes, heat pump taxes, gasoline taxes, stove taxes, air conditioner taxes, internal combustion engine taxes, etc., all of which are mislabeled in ways to sound like they are positive things.
Cap-and-trade is nothing but a giant tax scheme in which manufacturers have to pass on the costs.
Industry is fighting back in the UK and farmers are fighting back in the EU. Republicans need to carry the regressive tax hike message into the upcoming US election.
Inflation Pressures Everywhere
Please note that all of these mandates purposely increase costs. They are all inflationary.
Nearly everything this administration does is inflationary. The same applies to every regulation in California.
Don’t think for one second that these wage hike only hit wealthy franchise owners. For starters, many franchise owners are deep in debt to buy that franchise.
In addition, how are Joe and Susie going to get help at $16 when McDonalds is paying $20?
The answer is they won’t. Effectively, $20 is the new minimum wage in California, and not just restaurants.
Big Explosion of Government and Social Assistance Jobs
President Biden is bragging about job growth in 2023. But he doesn’t say where those jobs are.
Data from the BLS, chart and calculations by Mish.
A surge in immigration led to a surge in need for government and social assistance jobs at taxpayer expense. City and local governments are under financial strain.
Under Bidenomics policy, we have created hundreds of thousands of jobs that are of net negative benefit to US taxpayers. That’s what Biden is really bragging about.
Fed Chairman Tells 60 Minutes US Fiscal Path is Unsustainable
Fed Chair Jerome Powell tells 60 Minutes that it’s “urgent” the US address its “Unsustainable Fiscal Path”
The Fed normally does not comment on fiscal policy, but Powell did. “Debt is growing faster than the economy. So, it is unsustainable. … You could say that it was urgent,” said Powell.
I list 15 key takeaways from the interview. Click on the above link for discussion.
Since tariffs are a tax on consumers, Trump is proposing a huge tax hike. Biden is on fully on board.
China will retaliate and so will Europe. Costs will soar across the board. More inflation is on deck. Irony abounds. How can tariffs help both candidates?
Is Inflation Transitory?
Biden is bragging inflation is coming down. Economists have fully embraced the softest of softy landing. And Powell told 60 Minutes he thinks inflation is transitory.
I keep asking: Is inflation transitory or is this recent decline in the rate of inflation what’s transitory?
To help decide, please check out some of the links above.
Then factor in Biden’s regulations, the end of just in time manufacturing, a surge in immigration, and trade wars with China no matter who wins the election.
The Senate finally released details of the bipartisan border package. House speaker Mike Johnson immediately blasted the deal. McConnell tried to push it.
On Sunday, the Senate released details of the bipartisan immigration package that Democrats and Republicans worked on for months, in secret.
The bill is 370 pages long and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McCarthy wants a quick approval.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson complained “This bill is even worse than we expected, and won’t come close to ending the border catastrophe the President has created. If this bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival.”
The following points are from the WSJ and above Tweet.
20 KeyDetails
The total package is $118 billion of which only $650 million is for the wall.
Migrants will either be detained or released with monitoring devices, such as ankle bracelets, and given an initial screening interview within 90 days.
A migrant must prove that they couldn’t first safely relocate somewhere else in their home country to be eligible for asylum.
Those who pass the initial screening will receive a final decision within another 90 days.
Under a new power, which is authorized for three years, the government can “shut down” the border to asylum seekers if crossings surpass a daily average of 4,000 a day.
The shutdown becomes mandatory at 5,000 a day.
Free money: The Bill creates a fund to compensate cities such as New York and Chicago that have been sheltering large migrant populations.
50,000 additional Green Cards a year for five years
A fix that would protect the children of long-term visa holders, sometimes called documented dreamers, who risk deportation when they become adults.
Afghan Adjustment Act, a bill that would allow Afghan refugees evacuated to the U.S. to become permanent residents.
A Fend Off Fentanyl Act
$60 billion for Ukraine
$14.1 billion for Israel security assistance
$20 billion to implement the new border policies
$2.4 billion for operations in the Red Sea
$10 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza.
4.8 billion to address aggression by China in the Indo-Pacific.
$400 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
The total bill is $118 billion, so there’s a mystery $6.3 billion floating around somewhere.
At 5,000 a day for 365 days, the bill will allow 1,825,000 more immigrants. Expect much more in practice.
Questions Abound
Ankle Bracelets? What is to stop someone from taking off the bracelet and vanishing forever in a sanctuary city?
How can anyone “prove” they could not relocate safely in their own country? Since they can’t, I suppose we just have to take their word for it.
90 Days? Really? No, not really. 90 days is just a target not a firm mandate according to the WSJ.
The bill requires Biden has to shut down the border when the average hits 5,000 a day. But who’s doing the counting? And what does “shut down” mean? How? With what force?
Can Texas put back up razor wire?
What do Ukraine and Israel have to do with any of this?
$650 million for the wall? Well, no, not quite. It’s $0 for the wall until the next administration authorizes it.
Where’s the missing $6.3 billion?
How big is the New York and Chicago bailout fund?
What happens after three years? If Biden or a Democrat is president what will the cost be to renew the deal?
Did Republicans really negotiate this deal? What the heck?
Overriding Question
Why should anyone trust Biden to uphold his end of this deal?
Biden has flouted supreme court decisions on rent control and student debt cancellations. Senator Joe Manchin complained that Biden did not honor commitments in the Inflation Reduction Act.
The centerpiece of the border legislation is ankle bracelets coupled with the plea: sorry, please don’t come once we reach our 5,000 daily average limit.
The enforcement provisions are so nebulous there is no reason to believe Biden would actually manage to shut down the border. Yet, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board is pushing the deal too: A Border Security Bill Worth Passing
Israel's military has issued a new assessment which estimates it haslaunched attacks on some 3,000 Hezbollah sitesin Lebanon in Syria since war started after Oct.7. Military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says that while Israel is nothing seeking a bigger war in Lebanon, it is "certainly ready" and that the defense forces (IDF) are ready to"attack immediately if provoked."
Hezbollah has been hitting back on a daily basis too, with villages and communities on both sides of the border being impacted, and in some cases resulting in civilian casualties. When Israel hits targets in Syria, it tends to describe these as "Iran-linked", which often means Hezbollah.
Israel now says that time is running out for diplomacy as the two sides spiral toward bigger war. "Israel has said, though, that it’s prepared to open another front with a military attack on southern Lebanon if Hezbollah doesn’t move back to about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the border, as per the terms of a long-standing United Nations resolution," according to Bloomberg.
We reported in December that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has estimated that over 80,000 Israeli citizens are still displaced from their homes, after border regions had to be evacuated en masse as a result of Hezbollah attacks since Oct.7.
At the time it was reported that "The Israelis are anticipating within the next six weeks to two months that if the diplomatic track isn't working,they're going to have to opt for some kind of military solution." Israeli leaders have been reiterating this message this week.
"Israel will act militarily to return the evacuated citizens to their homes" if Hezbollah doesn't comply with the demand for a buffer zone, according to Monday statements of Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Israel is further demanding that the Lebanese government take action, but this has already been rejected in a fresh Tuesday statement:
Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, voiced on February 6 the nation’s rejection of recent Israeli and international demands seeking to push Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, north of the Litani River, saying Beirut will not accept ‘partial solutions’ to resolving the cross-border conflict.
“Western countries demand the retreat of Hezbollah for about eight to ten kilometers north of Litani,” Bou Habib said in an interview with Nida al-Watan. “This is a formula that Lebanon rejects. [Beirut] will not accept ‘partial solutions’ that do not bring the desired peace and do not secure stability but will lead to the renewal of the war again and again.”
But in reality even if the Lebanese government wanted to try and force Hezbollah away from the southern border it would not be able to do so. The Lebanese Army has long had a very limited arsenal, and really no air force to speak of, due to sanctions and limitations imposed by Washington.
Hezbollah is widely considered to be stronger than even the Lebanese state's army, and a weak army is largely the legacy of the prior two-decade long Lebanese civil war. But if Israel and Hezbollah enter a full, uncontrollable war, the entirety of Lebanon is likely to be impacted and bombed by Israeli warplanes, as happened to some degree in the 2006 war.
Meanwhile, there appears to be a rare positive development on Tuesday, per Newsquawk: "US and four European allies hope to announce in the next few weeks a series of commitments made by Israel and Hezbollah to diffuse tensions and restore calm to the Israel-Lebanon border, according to two Israeli officials and a source cited by Axios."
American Healthcare REIT Inc. is pricing shares in an initial public offering at the bottom of a marketed range to raise $672 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Irvine, California-based senior housing and assisted living property owner is selling 56 million shares for $12 each, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information wasn’t public yet. The real estate investment trust had marketed the shares for $12 and $15.
