The tech policy world is still reeling after Friday's revelation that President Obama personally ordered cyberattacks against Iran, and it remains unclear whether the news has helped or hurt the White House's political position. But there are early indications that the story hasn't given the White House the national security boost it was looking for. There has been speculation the White House approved the leaks to New York Times reporter David Sanger for his upcoming book project, presumably to emphasize the president's personal involvement in using cyberweapons to derail Iran's nuclear program. But critics are now accusing the White House of jeopardizing national security to boost the President's re-election campaign and deploying cyberweapons that they are unable to control in the long term.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., accused the administration of leaking details of its cyberweapon program for political gain and called for an investigation. McCain, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that he believes the president has the authority to launch such attacks but that the White House never briefed lawmakers on the program, dubbed "Olympic Games." Meanwhile, the head of the European antivirus company Kaspersky Lab called cyberweapons "the most dangerous innovation of this century" and compared the recently-discovered Flame virus with Stuxnet, the worm built by the U.S. and Israel to target Iran. Stuxnet was discovered infecting Siemens industrial systems in Germany after it escaped the hold of Iran's nuclear program. Eugene Kaspersky's comments echo the stance of his homeland, Russia, which has called on an international ban on cyberweapons.
Industry Keeping Close Watch on Cyber Bill: CQ's Jennifer Scholtes reports that the group that owns the Nasdaq and OMX stock markets is still pushing Congress to pass the information-sharing bill (HR 3523) approved by the House in April. An official representing the group said his company has serious concerns about attacks on critical infrastructure and argued it isn't reasonable to expect companies to resist attacks from foreign governments by themselves. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has included cybersecurity on his list of priorities for this legislative session, but the bill he has championed (S 2105) still faces strong resistance from both industry and privacy advocates. Duo at Work on Film Tax Credit: Two California congressman with close ties to Hollywood are working to restore a tax deduction aimed at keeping film and TV production in the U.S., according to a report in CQ Weekly from Anna McGeehan. Republican David Dreier and Democrat Howard Berman are trying to revive a tax credit (HR 5793) that allows film producers or investors to immediately deduct the first $15 million of production costs, as long as three-quarters of the operations take place in the U.S. The measure was first approved by Congress in 2004 and extended twice, before expiring at the end of last year. Film industry tax incentives are also a popular tack for state legislators, which have boosted the tax breaks they offer to lure productions to their home states. The effort is a remnant of Hollywood's diminishing clout in D.C., which has been lessened considerably by its recent loss in the battle over SOPA and PIPA. Lawmakers United Against U.N. Control of Internet: Ambreen Ali reports in CQ Weekly that lawmakers from both parties are united with the White House against attempts to expand international regulation of the Internet. The United Nations' International Telecommunication Union will meet in Dubai this December to update global telecom regulations, where several nations are expected to push for greater U.N. regulation of the Web. But the U.S. strongly opposes such measures, which would lessen the influence of the host of nonprofits that oversee the Web. American officials are also worried the U.N. would bow to pressure from countries, such as Russia and China, that censor portions of the Web for their citizens. On the Move: CQ Weekly's Kristin Coyner sits down with former USDA chief information officer Christopher L. Smith, who recently joined Accenture as federal chief technology and innovation officer. Smith predicted the government's embrace of "big data" initiatives would lead to a huge uptick in productivity. Facebook Considers Allowing Younger Users: Facebook is working on technology that would allow children below its current age limit of 13 years old to use the site under parental supervision, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Experts say millions of underage users are already on Facebook, albeit in violation of the site's terms. Opening up the site to younger users could generate new sources of revenue for the social media giant, which has seen its stock slide steadily since an initial public offering last month. But opening up Facebook to children will also likely draw further interest from lawmakers, who have already floated the idea of new rules to protect children's privacy on the Web. While there is little support for broader privacy legislation at present, a bill to discourage the tracking of minors would be far more likely to draw bipartisan support, particularly if stories emerge of predators using Facebook to target kids.