Tag Archive for: Biden

Biden probes security risks of Chinese smart cars


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The Biden administration is launching an investigation into national security risks posed by “connected” vehicles — cars linked to the internet — that use Chinese technology. Officials will weigh potential restrictions on the products to head off spying, hacking, or data collection.

Led by the Commerce Department, the investigation will solicit public comments over the next 60 days about risks posed by connected vehicles, which include electric vehicles, that use technology from China or other “countries of concern.” Ultimately, the administration could enact bans or “mitigating measures” to address any risks, a senior Biden administration official said, though officials are not currently promising to take any actions.

“Connected vehicles that have technologies sourced from China could be exploited in ways that threaten U.S. national security,” White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard told reporters. “The president believes it’s important for the United States to consider imposing safeguards to guard against connected vehicles operating on U.S. roads from relying on information and communication technology from China and other countries of concern.”

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the administration has a “high level of concern” about risks of Chinese-made connected vehicles and wants to act “before Chinese-manufactured vehicles become widespread in the United States and potentially threaten our privacy and our national security.”

The announcement is likely to inflame tensions with China, which has criticized U.S. curbs on semiconductors and other advanced technology the Biden administration says are motivated by national security considerations.

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The investigation will be run by Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which is putting out an “advanced notice of proposed rulemaking” to solicit public input about potential risks from foreign-made technology in connected vehicles. The administration is taking the action under authorities provided by a Trump-era executive order.

The Biden administration is specifically looking at connected vehicles made with technology from China, even if those vehicles…

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Biden Got Freaked Out About AI and National Security After Watching the Newest ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movie


President Joe Biden’s latest push to manage the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence and its impact on national security was in part inspired by a viewing of the latest installment of the “Mission: Impossible” movie franchise, which features Tom Cruise (“Top Gun: Maverick”) going up against a rogue AI, according to a White House official.

Speaking to The Associated Press, deputy White House chief of staff Bruce Reed recalled that while Biden has grown concerned over the use of AI to generate fake images of himself or clone a user’s voice, it was a screening of “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” at Camp David that particularly alarmed the president.

In the film, Cruise and his Impossible Mission Force team race against time to contain “the Entity,” a Russian-made AI that turns on its creators and sinks a next-generation submarine, killing all on board, within the first few minutes of the movie.

“If he hadn’t already been concerned about what could go wrong with AI before that movie, he saw plenty more to worry about,” Reed, who watched the movie alongside Biden, told AP.

Those concerns culminated for Biden in an Oct. 30 executive order on AI designed to shape how private companies can develop (and profit off of) new technologies without risking national security. Specifically, AI developers must allow the U.S. government to evaluate safety data and ensure that new tools don’t jeopardize public safety.

“One thing is clear: To realize the promise of AI and avoid the risk, we need to govern this technology,” Biden told reporters at the White House ahead of his signing, calling the order the “most significant action any government anywhere in the world has ever taken on AI safety, security and trust.”

That Biden was spurred to action by a Tom Cruise joint shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise. In fact, he wasn’t the first president to enact a major change to U.S. government policy as the result of a screening at Camp David.

According to “Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War,” President Ronald Reagan took in a screening of the techno-thriller “WarGames” at Camp David when the film hit theaters in…

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Biden Worries House Tumult Could Disrupt U.S. Aid to Ukraine: Live Updates


President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arriving at the European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain, on Thursday.Credit…Marcelo Del Pozo/Getty Images

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrived in Spain on Thursday to participate in a European summit aimed at strengthening cooperation across the continent amid concerns about waning support for his country as it faces another winter of Russian aggression.

The Ukrainian leader’s trip to the southern Spanish city of Granada came a day after President Biden expressed worries that the recent political turmoil in Congress could disrupt the flow of U.S. aid to Ukraine.

“I think it’s too late for us to worry. I think we have to work on it,” Mr. Zelensky told reporters at the summit when asked if he was concerned about a possible scaling back of U.S. military aid.

He said that he was confident that the United States would continue to support Ukraine’s war efforts, noting that meetings with Mr. Biden and with Congress members last month were positive.

Mr. Zelensky earlier said that the “joint goal” of those gathering in Granada was “to ensure the security and stability of our common European home.”

“We will pay special attention to the Black Sea region as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Ukraine’s key priority, particularly as winter approaches, is to strengthen air defense.”

E.U. leaders are expected to discuss long-term financial aid for Ukraine at a summit planned later this month in Brussels. On Thursday, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, told reporters in Granada that what Ukraine needed was “predictability and reliability” on direct budget support.

“I’m very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States,” she said. “What the United States is working on is the timing.”

Thursday’s meeting in Grenada comes amid concerns about potential cracks in Europe’s united front on Ukraine, as governments reckon with the economic and political costs of providing long-term support for Kyiv.

It is just the third meeting of the European Political Community, a…

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Biden administration takes credit for warning hundreds of targets before ransomware attacks


The federal government’s leading domestic cyber agency said Wednesday it has warned hundreds of entities about looming ransomware attacks before they occurred, which enabled people to prevent getting victimized.

Ransomware gangs have ripped through American computer networks during President Biden’s tenure, particularly affecting critical infrastructure targets including healthcare, gas pipelines and government systems.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is in the early stages of implementing new programs to warn people about cyberattacks inside networks and vulnerabilities in devices that are likely to be exploited.



CISA executive director Brandon Wales said Wednesday that his agency has leveraged relationships with cybersecurity companies to gather the information it uses to alert people that they are in hackers’ crosshairs before a cyberattack starts.

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