Archives for April 2021

Senators press for more on SolarWinds hack after AP report

Key lawmakers said Tuesday they’re concerned they’ve been kept in the dark about what suspected Russian hackers stole from the federal government and they pressed Biden administration officials for more details about the scope of what’s known as the SolarWinds hack.

In letters to top officials, Sens. Gary Peters and Rob Portman said recent reporting by The Associated Press “raised the troubling possibility that some federal agencies did not fully report” the extent of the breach to Congress.

“Time and again this committee has discussed the challenges of defending against sophisticated, well-resourced, and patient cyber adversaries. Nevertheless, the fact remains that despite significant investments in cyber defenses, the federal government did not initially detect this cyberattack,” the senators wrote. Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Portman, of Ohio, is the top Republican.

The AP reported last month that suspected Russian hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to the Trump administration’s acting homeland security secretary, Chad Wolf, and members of his department’s cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries.

It’s been nearly four months since officials discovered what they describe as a sprawling, monthslong cyberespionage effort done largely through a hack of a widely used software from Texas-based SolarWinds Inc. At least nine federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, were hacked, along with dozens of private-sector companies.

The senators sent their letters to Brandon Wales, the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at DHS, and Christopher DeRusha, chief information security officer at the Office of Management and Budget.

The senators are asking for several documents related to the hack, including those that show which individual accounts were targeted or compromised.

Scott McConnell, a spokesman for the cybersecurity agency, said it “does not comment on congressional correspondence.” OMB did not immediately return a request for comment.

Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser, said in an interview with The Associated Press last week there were “gaps” in basic cybersecurity defenses at some of the nine agencies affected, which have hampered officials’ ability to determine what the hackers accessed.

She said the administration has identified five needed modernizations as a result of its review of how the SolarWinds hack happened, including using technology that continuously monitors for malicious activity and requiring greater use of multi-factor authentication so systems can’t be accessed with a stolen password alone.

The Biden administration has tried to keep a tight lid on the scope of the SolarWinds attack as it weighs retaliatory measures against Russia. But an inquiry by the AP found new details about the breach at DHS and other agencies, including the Energy Department, where hackers accessed top officials’ schedules.

The AP interviewed more than a dozen current and former U.S. government officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the ongoing investigation into the hack.

EXPLAINER: Could mask hamper ex-officer’s image with jurors?

The face mask that former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been required to wear during his trial in George Floyd’s death has hidden his reaction to testimony, including any sympathy or remorse that legal experts say can make a difference to jurors.

Because coronavirus concerns have forced Chauvin and other participants to wear masks except when they’re addressing the court, the enduring image of the defendant throughout the trial has been his impassive expression from last May as he gazed at the teenager filming his knee pinning Floyd’s neck. The girl, who captured the encounter on her cellphone, called Chauvin’s stare “cold” and “heartless.”

Prosecutors have repeatedly displayed the image in the courtroom, and Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo alluded to the white former officer’s facial expression as he explained why he violated department policy by kneeling on the Black man’s neck for an extended period.

Legal experts say the image — and the challenge of replacing it in jurors’ minds with Chauvin’s reactions during trial — could hamper the defense.

“Every trial has a hero and a villain,” said Ryan Pacyga, a defense attorney who has been following the trial. “He looks like a villain.”

Trial lawyers, who have long practiced the art of courtroom dramaturgy, send subtle hints to jurors about a defendant through their looks and body language. They say it’s important because it humanizes the defendant.

“You’ve got to find a way for the jury to care for them,” Pacyga said.

But the pandemic has changed how the trial works.

HOW DO JURORS SEE CHAUVIN?

The question was important to Chauvin’s defense before the trial even began. His defense attorneys attempted to weed out potential jurors who had already formed strong opinions about the former officer. But jurors have watched video of Floyd’s arrest and heard from witnesses who expressed strong feelings about Chauvin.

“He didn’t care. It seemed as if he didn’t care what we were saying,” said 18-year-old Darnella Frazier, one of several witnesses who testified through tears.

Chauvin didn’t appear to show any emotion during the videos or testimony as he scribbled notes on a notepad. But it also would be difficult to see if he was affected because the bottom half of his face is hidden behind a face mask.

“I wonder if watching these videos causes him some pain and agony? I don’t know,” said Joseph Daly, emeritus professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.

WHY IS A DEFENDANT’S REMORSE IMPORTANT?

Research by legal scholars has shown that defendants who appear to show remorse may have an advantage with juries.

“People who look more angry are more likely to be viewed as being a criminal,” said Kim MacLin, a professor at the University of Northern Iowa who specializes in psychology and law.

She conducted an experiment that found jurors in a mock trial were more likely to acquit if they saw an image of the defendant that seemed remorseful. Other research has shown that juries deciding whether to sentence someone to death are more lenient when a defendant seems to show remorse.

“It is something that juries, by human nature, think about. What sort of person are we dealing with here?” said Susan Bandes, an emeritus professor at DePaul University College of Law.

She noted that Chauvin already has a “remorse deficit” due to his actions during Floyd’s arrest, adding, “That look on his face as captured in the video is so powerful.”

Defense attorneys often try to cast defendants in a positive way by making sure they are wearing a suit that fits, getting them to smile at breaks in proceedings or asking their family or friends to appear in the courtroom.

Chauvin’s defense attorney touched him on the shoulder while he was introduced during jury selection, when Chauvin was allowed to briefly take his mask off.

Daly said it is a way for the attorney to send a subtle message to jurors: “I’m not afraid of this guy.”

WILL CHAUVIN TESTIFY?

Legal experts say that Chauvin’s defense attorney has a lot to weigh in deciding whether to put Chauvin on the stand, but one factor could be showing a different side to the former officer. Witnesses are allowed to take their masks off while they testify.

Pacyga, the defense attorney, said as he thinks the defense’s strategy could be headed towards having Chauvin testify, especially if they feel there is a chance of getting him acquitted of the charges.

“You’ve got to get this jury in Chauvin’s shoes in some way, shape or form,” he said. “Otherwise he looks like the most callous person in the world.”

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Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

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This story corrects that Chauvin’s defense attorney touched Chauvin on the shoulder when he introduced him during jury selection, not at the beginning of each day.

New Hampshire teen saves West Virginia boy via TikTok

GILMANTON, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire teen has been credited with saving a boy more than 800 miles (1,290 kilometers) away — thanks to TikTok.

Caden Cotnoir, 13, was watching a TikTok livestream of Trent Jarrett, 12, riding a four-wheeler in West Virginia, when something went awry, WMUR-TV reported.

“All of a sudden his phone goes kind of blank, you can see a little bit of light and you can just hear him yelling for help,” Caden said.

Caden said he could hear Trent yelling out numbers.

“I was yelling out my grandparent’s house phone number,” Trent said, adding it was the only number he could remember.

Caden made a virtual call for help and Trent’s parents managed to find him and lift the ATV off him. After being trapped for about 20 minutes, he sustained minor cuts and bruises.

“He did was he was supposed to do and got the right people and it worked out. It was an Easter miracle,” Caden’s stepfather, Gilmanton Police Chief Matt Currier, said of him.

Caden had followed Trent because of the boys’ shared interests, including hunting and fishing, the station reported. The two met via Zoom on Monday, and Trent said he’d like to thank Caden for everything he did.

Bremen beats Regensburg for German Cup semifinal vs. Leipzig

REGENSBURG, Germany (AP) — Yuya Osako’s second-half goal was enough for Werder Bremen to reach the German Cup semifinals with a 1-0 win over second-division Regensburg on Wednesday.

The Japan forward controlled Marco Friedl’s pass from midfield on his chest and turned to shoot inside the left post in the 52nd minute.

The teams’ quarterfinal was supposed to be played on March 2, but it was postponed due to COVID-19 infections among several Regensburg players a couple of days after coach Mersad Selimbegovic was diagnosed with what the club said was the “highly contagious British mutation of the coronavirus.”

The opening minutes of the second half had more goal-mouth action than the entire first half. Osako then missed a chance to make it 2-0 in the 67th, when Regensburg ’keeper Alexander Meyer blocked his shot out for a corner.

Bremen had to clear off the line as the home side made a late surge for an equalizer, but the Bundesliga team held on to set up a meeting with Leipzig on April 30.

Borussia Dortmund is playing second-division Holstein Kiel in the other semifinal on May 1. The final is scheduled to be played in Berlin’s Olympiastadion on May 13.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Consumer privacy push in Florida limps forward

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Big Data won a key concession from Florida lawmakers Tuesday when it persuaded a legislative committee to defang a proposal advertised by Gov. Ron DeSantis as a call to arms against tech giants’ unfettered powers to share and sell consumers’ personal information.

Intense lobbying from business advocates prompted lawmakers to strip away a provision that would have allowed consumers to sue for the unauthorized collection and sale of their personal data.

After winning that concession from the Senate Rules Committee, lobbyists for the business community then attempted to kill the bill in its entirety — arguing that the remaining provisions would still be too expensive and overly burdensome.

Nevertheless, the weakened measure limped out of its final Senate committee and could soon be headed to the full chamber for consideration.

Due to the rise of computers and the ubiquity of smartphones — as well as the emergence of technology that can seemingly track a person’s every move — consumer privacy has become a national concern. And with federal action moving glacially, Florida and other states have moved to address tech-related issues on their own.

A version in the Florida House retains, for now, a provision allowing individual consumers to sue and is awaiting a final committee hearing.

The House measure would require companies to divulge what data they are gathering, force them to delete it upon consumer request and prohibit them from sharing or selling it when told not to. They could be sued if they don’t comply.

The Senate version removed an individual’s right to sue, reserving legal action to the discretion of the state’s attorney general. It also redefined what kinds of businesses would have to comply with the proposed rules, designed to exclude smaller companies from the new rules.

“The landscape of the internet has changed considerably in a relatively short period of time, and the internet of today is a one-way street where the most intimate details of a consumer’s life, usually unbeknownst to the consumer, are monetized and sold to the highest bidder,” Sen. Jennifer Bradley, the Senate bill’s lead sponsor, told her fellow lawmakers.

DeSantis has made consumer data privacy one of his legislative priorities. It’s part a part of a two-pronged attack the Republican governor has launched against Big Tech. DeSantis is also backing proposals in the Republican-controlled Legislature that would go after social media companies and other platforms that he and other Republicans contend discriminate against conservatives.

During a press conference in February, DeSantis assailed Big Tech companies for profiting from the troves of data they harvest from consumers.

Business advocacy groups, which have generally been friendly to Republicans, have come out against the proposal, saying it would spawn frivolous lawsuits if individual consumers were allowed to take legal action.

“The private rights of action allowing for statutory damages would create a cottage industry of plaintiffs lawyers filing gotcha lawsuits,” said Alfred Saikali, whose Miami law firm represents clients who could be held liable under the proposed rules.

Saikali lauded lawmakers for agreeing to remove a consumer’s right to sue, but later returned to address legislators as he sought to have the bill killed because of the cost.

“To comply with this law you’re going to have to purchase technology, you’re going to have to perform data inventories, you’re going to have to hire lawyers like myself,” he said, adding that processing consumer requests could require more costly staffing and training. “So you’re looking at at least hundreds of thousand of dollars each year for a business to comply.”

Other business advocates urged lawmakers to slow down so they can more fully consider the consequences to businesses.

But it remains uncertain how much it would cost for businesses to comply with the new rules if enacted.

Sen. Gary Farmer, the chamber’s Democratic leader, asserted that businesses have blown compliance issues “out of proportion.”

“Why is it such a bad thing that we as consumers get the option to opt out of sharing everything that’s in our phone?” Farmer asked. “The time has come to level the playing flied when it comes to our rights of privacy.”

Archives for April 2021

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