Senate Democrats on Wednesday are vowing to force a third vote aimed at ending President Trump’s national emergency declaration amid reports that the White House is shifting more money from the Pentagon to the border wall.

Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerCharles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerGOP senator: 2020 candidates must recuse themselves from impeachment trial Collins questions delay on Lev Parnas documents Sanders calls for investigation into possible surveillance of Yovanovitch MORE (D-N.Y.) as well as Sens. Patrick LeahyPatrick Joseph LeahyOvernight Defense: Foreign policy takes center stage at Democratic debate | House delivers impeachment articles to Senate | Dems vow to force new vote on Trump’s border wall Democrats vow to force third vote on Trump’s border wall emergency declaration On The Money — Presented by Wells Fargo — Uncertainty clouds Trump’s China trade deal | Judge delays ruling in House lawsuit over Trump tax returns | Treasury blocks foreign investments in critical US firms MORE (D-Vt.), Jack ReedJohn (Jack) Francis ReedOvernight Defense: Foreign policy takes center stage at Democratic debate | House delivers impeachment articles to Senate | Dems vow to force new vote on Trump’s border wall Democrats vow to force third vote on Trump’s border wall emergency declaration Overnight Health Care: Kansas leaders reach deal to expand Medicaid | California to launch own prescription drug label | Dem senator offers bill banning e-cigarette flavors MORE (D-R.I.), Dick DurbinRichard (Dick) Joseph DurbinOvernight Defense: Foreign policy takes center stage at Democratic debate | House delivers impeachment articles to Senate | Dems vow to force new vote on Trump’s border wall Senators under strict orders to pay attention during weeks-long impeachment trial Democrats vow to force third vote on Trump’s border wall emergency declaration MORE (D-Ill.) and Tom UdallThomas (Tom) Stewart UdallOvernight Defense: Foreign policy takes center stage at Democratic debate | House delivers impeachment articles to Senate | Dems vow to force new vote on Trump’s border wall Democrats vow to force third vote on Trump’s border wall emergency declaration Overnight Defense: War powers fight runs into impeachment | Kaine has 51 votes for Iran resolution | Trump plans to divert .2B from Pentagon to border wall MORE (D-N.M.) released a statement saying they “strongly oppose” Trump’s decision, calling it a “continued cannibalization” of the Pentagon’s accounts.

“We will continue to oppose the transfer of counterdrug funding for the wall, and will force yet another vote to terminate the President’s sham national emergency declaration and return these much-needed military construction funds back to our military,” the Democrats said.

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The Washington Post reported that Trump will divert $3.5 billion from the Pentagon’s counterdrug programs and $3.7 billion from military construction funding.

The decision sparked bipartisan backlash from lawmakers tasked with funding the government, with Republicans raising public questions about potential unintended consequences for the military.

Democrats added on Wednesday that the decision was a “slap in the face” to the military.

“Bipartisan majorities in Congress have repeatedly rejected diverting money from critical military construction projects to build a single additional mile of border wall. Robbing the Defense Department of these much-needed funds in order to boost his own ego and for a wall he promised Mexico would pay to build is an insult to the sacrifices made by our service members,” they said.

Passing legislation to block Trump’s emergency declaration requires a simple majority in the Senate, though supporters would need 67 votes to ultimately override Trump’s veto.

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The Senate has previously voted twice to end the emergency declaration, with roughly a dozen GOP senators voting with Democrats to nix Trump’s decision.

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Under the National Emergencies Act, Democrats can force a vote on ending Trump’s emergency declaration every six months. The Senate voted in September and, for the first time, last February to end the emergency declaration.

Trump, however, vetoed both measures and Congress has been unable to override the veto.

Advocacy groups filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s policy that allows asylum-seekers to be deported to Guatemala and soon, El Salvador and Honduras.

The groups, which include the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), are alleging that the policies block applicants from ever receiving asylum and put them at risk by returning them to “the same dangerous region they fled,” according to the lawsuit.

“The Trump administration has created a deadly game of musical chairs that leaves desperate refugees without a safe haven, in violation of U.S. and international law,” Katrina Eiland, an attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a press release. “The administration is illegally trying to turn away asylum-seekers and pass the buck to other countries that can’t protect them.”

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The groups argue that the policies violate the Refugee Act, Immigration and Nationality Act and Administrative Procedure Act. The suit names government figures and agencies including Attorney General Bill Barr, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Asylum-seekers have the right to apply to stay in the U.S. unless they can go to another safe country, but the country has to give “access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum” to be defined as safe. 

“The Rule recklessly subverts our legal framework for accepting refugees into a machinery for casting them off into circumstances as perilous as those they fled,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit cites two cases of people who were deported to Guatemala, including a gay man who fears he will be attacked for his sexual orientation and a daughter and a mother, whose common-law husband and sister-in-law were murdered in Honduras.

The National Immigrant Justice Center, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and Human Rights First joined the ACLU in filing the suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The Trump administration began sending asylum-seekers to Guatemala in November as part of a controversial program, and had sent guidance saying that Mexican asylum-seekers were to be sent there, too. Previous reporting from the Los Angeles Times indicated that the administration was also going to send asylum-seekers to Honduras, regardless of if they were from there.

DHS spokeswoman Heather Swift said the department “stand(s) behind the integrity of the program.”

“While we cannot comment on litigation, the U.S. Government and the Government of Guatemala remain committed to the asylum cooperative agreement and stand behind the integrity of the program,” she said in a statement to The Hill.

Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill’s newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you don’t already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter with this LINK.

Welcome! Follow the cyber team, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and the tech team, Emily Birnbaum (@birnbaum_e) and Chris Mills Rodrigo (@chrisismills).

 

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UNDER PRESSURE: The Department of Justice, backed by President TrumpDonald John TrumpDem lawmaker says Nunes threatened to sue him over criticism Parnas: U.S. ambassador to Ukraine removed to clear path for investigations into Bidens Five takeaways from Parnas’s Maddow interview MORE and a cohort of bipartisan lawmakers, is turning up the heat on Apple as the U.S. government presses the tech giant to unlock the phones of the Pensacola, Fla., shooter authorities say was a terrorist. 

The clash comes as top U.S. officials, including Attorney General William BarrWilliam Pelham BarrHillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief Appeals court appears wary of letting Trump reinstate death sentences Apple v. Attorney General Barr: Giving feds access to smartphones is a bad call MORE, have been pushing large tech companies to give law enforcement special access to private devices, like cellphones and computers, amid criminal investigations.

Barr has been beating the drum against Big Tech for months, arguing the companies are kneecapping vital criminal investigations as they insist on keeping their devices locked down. But the tech industry sees Barr — alongside Republican and Democratic allies — as unfairly seizing on the Pensacola investigation to bring the issue to the forefront again.

Trump jumps in: In a tweet on Tuesday, Trump lashed out at Apple, knocking the company for refusing to unlock phones “used by killers” after the company declined to unlock devices used by the gunman at last month’s shooting.

“We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements,” Trump tweeted Tuesday evening, echoing comments made earlier in the week by Barr.

During a press conference on Monday, Barr accused Apple of failing to provide “substantial assistance” to the FBI in its investigation of the Pensacola shooting, which killed three U.S. Navy sailors and injured eight more in early December. He said investigators have determined it was an “act of terrorism.”

Apple’s response: Apple has pushed back against Barr’s assessment of the situation, pointing out the company already turned over reams of data about the shooter to the government, including “iCloud backups, account information and transactional data for multiple accounts.”

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Apple said it has been assisting with the FBI’s investigation since December but that it only received a subpoena related to information on the shooter’s second phone on Jan. 8, “which we responded to within hours.”

Read more here.

 

LEAVING HUAWEI OUT OF IT: Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinTreasury watchdog to investigate Trump Opportunity Zone program On The Money — Presented by Wells Fargo — Trump signs first phase of US-China trade deal | Senate to vote Thursday on Canada, Mexico deal | IRS provides relief for those with discharged student loans Hillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief MORE said that negotiations between the U.S. and China over issues around telecommunications giant Huawei are “ongoing,” stressing the Chinese company will not be used as a “chess piece” in the trade deal that was signed Wednesday.

“I don’t view Huawei as a chess piece,” Mnuchin said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “What I do think, and we have said this repeatedly across the administration: our national security issues are our primary concern. So, when it comes to our government networks, when it comes to sophisticated business networks, military networks and networks of all of our allies, we want to make sure that those networks are fully secure.”

Mnuchin’s comments came hours before U.S. officials signed a “phase one” trade deal with China. A second deal, addressing issues such as cybersecurity and tech – including potentially Huawei – is still to come.

“Huawei is not part of the economic dialogue, it is part of the national security dialogue, which is ongoing,” Mnuchin told CNBC. “These are going to be negotiated separately.”

Federal concerns around Huawei have built over the past year, as the Trump administration and bipartisan members of Congress have taken steps against the telecommunications company, which is one of the largest telecom product manufacturers in the world.

Read more here.

To read more on the trade deal signing, click here.

 

GUESS WHO’S BACK, BACK AGAIN: Congressional Democrats are raising fresh concerns about 2020 election security following a report this week that Russian military officers hacked Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian gas company at the center of President Trump’s impeachment.

Several Democratic lawmakers are viewing the incident, reported by The New York Times on Monday night, as the first major sign that Moscow is gearing up for a repeat of its 2016 election interference. They cited what they call similarities between the Burisma attack and the Democratic National Committee hack four years ago.

Sen. Gary PetersGary Charles PetersHillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief Democrats sound election security alarm after Russia’s Burisma hack Lawmakers introduce bill to bolster artificial intelligence, quantum computing MORE (Mich.), the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the hack confirmed that Russia will be back to interfere in U.S. elections this year.

“The Russians are actively engaged in hacking all sorts of sites and businesses, and I am sure there was a political motivation behind it. We know the Russians are going to be actively involved in trying to cause problems in the 2020 election, and this is just a further confirmation of their active involvement in American politics,” Peters told The Hill.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie ThompsonBennie Gordon ThompsonHillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief House Democrats request briefings on Iranian cyber threats from DHS, FCC Democrats sound election security alarm after Russia’s Burisma hack MORE (D-Miss.) said the latest Kremlin-backed cyberattack spells trouble for Election Day.

“The 2020 election is likely to be the most consequential election in modern American history, and I am alarmed by new reports that Russia recently hacked into the Ukrainian gas company at the center of the impeachment trial, as well as Russia’s plans to once again meddle in our elections and in our democracy,” Thompson said in a statement.

Rep. Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffAdam Schiff was an answer on ‘Jeopardy!’ and none of the contestants knew who he was Hillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief McConnell locks in schedule for start of impeachment trial MORE (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, tweeted that Russians “appear to be at it again.”

Read more here.

 

QUESTIONS ABOUT IRANIAN CYBER THREATS: The Democratic leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday requested briefings from two key federal agencies on efforts to secure the nation’s telecommunications against potential Iranian cyberattacks, as another House committee also put the spotlight on Iranian cyber threats.

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House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Rep. Mike DoyleMichael (Mike) F. DoyleHillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief House Democrats request briefings on Iranian cyber threats from DHS, FCC Hillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash MORE (D-Pa.), the chair of the subcommittee on communications and technology, sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking for briefings on what steps have been taken to “warn telecommunications providers of potential cyberattacks on critical communications networks and how the providers should prepare for and defend against such attacks.”

Congressional concern over potential cyberattacks from Iran have spiked this month after President Trump ordered the targeting and killing Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. 

Iran is widely regarded to be among the most dangerous threats to the U.S. in cyberspace alongside Russia, North Korea, and China. According to the most recent Worldwide Threat Assessment put out by former Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, Iran has the ability to cause “temporary disruptive effects” on U.S. infrastructure through a cyberattack.  

DHS issued a bulletin last week warning of Iran’s ability to attack the U.S. in cyberspace, and separately sent a bulletin to law enforcement in conjunction with the FBI noting their belief that Iran would attempt to target the U.S. through a cyberattack. 

Read more here.

 

MAYOR PETE LOSES CYBER CHIEF: The top cybersecurity official on former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPeter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegWarren-Sanders fight raises alarm on the left New Hampshire Rep. Kuster endorses Buttigieg Hillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief MORE‘s presidential campaign has resigned. 

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Mick Baccio, who served as Buttigieg’s chief information security officer, told the news outlet CyberScoop that he left the campaign earlier this month due to “fundamental philosophical differences with the campaign management regarding the architecture and scope of the information security program.”

Baccio’s resignation comes amid renewed concerns of foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. elections. Just this week, The New York Times reported that Russian military officials hacked the Ukrainian gas company at the center of President Trump’s impeachment proceedings.

Baccio, a former cyber official in the Obama administration, was hired by Buttigieg’s campaign last summer to help protect it from hackers and other online threats. The hire made Buttigieg’s campaign the first to bring on a full-time staff member to oversee cybersecurity.

Baccio did not elaborate on the disagreements that led to his resignation when reached by The Hill. A spokesperson for Buttigieg confirmed that he had resigned and said that the campaign had retained a new security firm.

Read more here.

 

GOOD NEWS FOR CAMPAIGNS: California-based security company Cloudflare announced Wednesday that it will offer free cybersecurity assistance to U.S. political campaigns and others around the world as concerns mount about the potential for increased cyber threats against campaigns in 2020.

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The new “Cloudflare for Campaigns” program will offer free cybersecurity services including firewall protection and and internal data management for campaigns. It will also assist staffers with access to internal systems from accidentally being exposed to malware and other viruses. 

“Given the increase and sophistication of foreign election interference efforts, there is a clear need to help campaigns improve the security of not only their websites and other public-facing assets, but also their internal data security systems and teams,” Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, said in a statement. “This is our way of providing best practices and no-brainer solutions to not only large campaigns, but also smaller, but equally important campaigns that may have limited resources.”

In order to provide cyber assistance to campaigns, Cloudflare is collaborating with the nonprofit group Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC), which was approved by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) last year to provide free cybersecurity assistance to federal campaigns and national party committees. 

At the time that the DDC was approved to provide cybersecurity services, FEC Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub wrote in the opinion that the request was approved due to the “current threat of foreign cyberattacks” posing a “highly unusual and serious threat.” 

Read more here.

 

#NEVERWARREN TRENDS: A spat between Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersWarren to Sanders: ‘I think you called me a liar on national TV’ Warren-Sanders fight raises alarm on the left On The Money — Presented by Wells Fargo — Trump signs first phase of US-China trade deal | Senate to vote Thursday on Canada, Mexico deal | IRS provides relief for those with discharged student loans MORE (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenWarren to Sanders: ‘I think you called me a liar on national TV’ Warren-Sanders fight raises alarm on the left Overnight Health Care: Health insurers urge Supreme Court to take ObamaCare case | Lawmakers press Trump officials to change marijuana rules | Bloomberg vows to ban flavored e-cigs if elected MORE (D-Mass.) over whether Sanders said he believed a woman could not be elected president spilled on to Twitter after Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate in Iowa, causing the hashtag #NeverWarren to trend in the top three on Twitter in the United States.

The trending topic comes after Sanders and Warren publicly disagreed over whether Sanders had made the remark that a woman could not win the White House in a private meeting with Warren in December 2018. Sanders vehemently denied that he made the statement, while Warren stuck to her claim that the exchange occurred. 

Following the debate, Sanders supporters lambasted Warren on social media over the claim.

Supporters of Warren and others who simply called for Democratic Party unity piled on to the hashtag Wednesday morning as it trended, urging Democrats to agree to support whomever is the eventual nominee.

Read more here.

 

ROBOCALLS ON THE RISE: Roughly 58.5 billion robocalls were made in the U.S. last year, according to new research, marking a 22 percent increase from 2018.

YouMail, a company that provides a service to block robocalls, estimated that the average American received 178.3 robocalls during the year.

“We’ve now had well over 100 billion robocalls in the past two years,” YouMail CEO Alex Quilici said in a statement. “It’s no wonder that an anti-robocall bill passed Congress overwhelmingly and was signed by the President on December 31, 2019.”

President Trump in late December signed a bill aimed at reducing the number of robocalls made in the U.S., an issue that had united both chambers and both parties in Congress.

The Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act requires phone companies to block robocalls without charging customers anything extra and mandates most carriers in the U.S. to ensure that calls are coming from real numbers. It also grants government regulators increased authority to find and punish scammers, which could include fines of up to $10,000 per call. 

Read more here.

 

GOODBYE GRINDR: Twitter suspended Grindr from its ad network on Tuesday after a study alleged that the world’s most popular gay dating app shared personal data with marketing partners without notifying users.

A spokesperson from the social media network confirmed to The Hill that it is “currently investigating this issue to understand the sufficiency of Grindr’s consent mechanism.”

While that investigation unfolds, Grindr’s account on the Twitter ad inventory manager MoPub will be disabled, according to the spokesperson.

Grindr was one of 10 dating and health apps singled out in a report from the Norwegian Consumer Council, a government-funded nonprofit organization in Oslo. The report alleges that the apps shared user data in a way that violates privacy laws, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Companies can be fined up to 4 percent of their yearly revenue for violations of the GDPR. 

The report alleges that Grindr transmitted data on its more than three million users – including IP addresses, gender, age and location data – to more than a dozen companies, including MoPub.

Read more here.

 

A LIGHTER CLICK: No comment

 

AN OP-ED TO CHEW ON: Next phase in the U.S. confrontation with Iran: Moving the battle to the cyber domain

 

NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: 

60 percent of U.S. politicians have not updated their cybersecurity since 2016 (MIT Technology Review / Patrick Howell O’Neill) 

Facebook’s problems moderating deepfakes will only get worse in 2020 (Verge / James Vincent)

A top Away executive quit on the same day the startup’s embattled founder said she was returning as CEO (Recode / Jason Del Rey)

A black market for life-saving insulin thrives on social media (OneZero / David Schultz)

The proportion of taxpayers facing an IRS audit has dropped to the lowest point in decades, potentially depriving the government of billions of dollars in revenue.

The IRS reported this week that it audited just 0.45 percent of individual filers last year, less than half the level from 10 years ago and a fraction of the level seen in previous decades.

In its progress update, the IRS pointed to a steady decline in employees in recent years. From 2010 to 2019, it lost nearly 30,000 full time positions.

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“These losses directly correlate with a steady decline in the number of individual audits during the past nine years,” the report said.

It also noted that nearly 20,000 employees, representing 31 percent of its current workforce, are slated to retire in the coming five years, potentially leading to a significant knowledge and experience gap.

In a recent paper, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and University of Pennsylvania professor Natasha Sarin argued that the IRS could easily recoup $1 trillion over a decade by simply increasing audits, requiring more reporting and investing in information technology. Even that, they calculated, would be just 15 percent of an estimated $7.5 trillion in uncollected taxes over 10 years.

Every additional dollar put towards enforcement is estimated to yield $4 in revenues.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyTrump trade deal faces uncertain Senate timeline On The Money: CBO projects B deficit rise in first quarter of 2020 | Grassley looks to rein in Trump tariff powers | IRS audits drop to lowest level in decades Grassley says he wants to rein in Trump tariff powers MORE (R-Iowa) said the decline followed a 20-year-old action plan he worked on aimed at stopping the IRS from “intimidating” small businesses. But he suggested would be open to increasing funding for the agency, and that his office has been in touch with the IRS about the low audit rates.

“We felt that small business was just being intimidated all the time by IRS,” Grassley said.

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“We started a long time ago down this road trying to send a message to the IRS, and if they could prove to us that they got that message, that they’re not just going to harass small businesses compared to the big corporation, I think they could get increased funding, and I know that increased funding would be beneficial,” he added.

In December, Congress approved an $11.5 billion budget for the IRS this year, which was a $207.5 million increase over 2019 but still billions below the funding it had just a decade ago.

The federal deficit is nearing $1 trillion, and the national debt has surpassed $23 trillion.

Democrats vying for the party’s 2020 nomination for president have cited increased enforcement as one approach for funding expensive proposals relating to health, education and climate.

—Updated at 3:49 p.m.

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The Democratic leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday requested briefings from two key federal agencies on efforts to secure the nation’s telecommunications against potential Iranian cyberattacks, as another House committee also put the spotlight on Iranian cyber threats.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Rep. Mike DoyleMichael (Mike) F. DoyleHillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief House Democrats request briefings on Iranian cyber threats from DHS, FCC Hillicon Valley: Lawmakers say Facebook deepfake ban falls short | House passes bills to win 5G race | Feds sound alarm on cyberthreat from Iran | Ivanka Trump appearance at tech show sparks backlash MORE (D-Penn.), the chair of the subcommittee on communications and technology, sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking for briefings on what steps have been taken to “warn telecommunications providers of potential cyberattacks on critical communications networks and how the providers should prepare for and defend against such attacks.”

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Congressional concern over potential cyberattacks from Iran have spiked this month in the wake of the U.S. targeting and killing Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. 

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Iran is widely regarded to be among the most dangerous threats to the U.S. in cyberspace alongside Russia, North Korea, and China. According to the most recent Worldwide Threat Assessment put out by former Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats Iran has the ability to cause “temporary disruptive effects” on U.S. infrastructure through a cyberattack.  

DHS issued a bulletin last week warning of Iran’s ability to attack the U.S. in cyberspace, and separately sent a bulletin to law enforcement in conjunction with the FBI noting their belief that Iran would attempt to target the U.S. through a cyberattack. 

“We are concerned that Iran, its allies, or other entities wishing to take advantage of this situation might retaliate by attacking U.S. communications networks, or use such networks to attack other targets,” Pallone and Doyle wrote on Wednesday. “To protect the American people, the government must proactively work with industry to identify potential threats and aid carriers in the defense of critical communications infrastructure.”

The lawmakers gave the FCC and DHS until Feb. 5 to provide them with briefings, which they noted could take place in a classified setting “if necessary.” 

A spokesperson for the FCC declined to comment on the letter, while DHS did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

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The House Energy and Commerce Committee was not the only panel to address potential cyber threats from Iran on Wednesday.

The House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on Wednesday morning to explore Iranian threats to homeland in relation to the death of Soleimani, with potential cyberattacks a major focus of the event.  

Rep. Bennie ThompsonBennie Gordon ThompsonHillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief House Democrats request briefings on Iranian cyber threats from DHS, FCC Democrats sound election security alarm after Russia’s Burisma hack MORE (D-Miss.), the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said during his opening remarks that he wanted to understand whether “potential targets are prepared to defend against Iranian cyber threats.” 

He noted that “although there have been no specific threats to critical infrastructure, escalation of tensions with any adversary demand that we take stock of all the current measures we employ to defend ourselves. This is particularly true in the case of Iran, a country that is unpredictable in its responses and hides behind proxies and sympathizers to do its dirty work.” 

Rep. John KatkoJohn Michael KatkoHouse Democrats request briefings on Iranian cyber threats from DHS, FCC US officials, lawmakers warn of potential Iranian cyberattacks House votes to temporarily repeal Trump SALT deduction cap MORE (R-N.Y.), the top Republican on the committee’s cybersecurity subcommittee, said that he viewed cybersecurity vulnerabilities as “the greatest threat to our country right now.”

“The consensus is that the easiest and perhaps most effective way to fight back for state actors that are bad actors or individuals that are bad actors around the world are cyberattacks,” Katko said. “We didn’t do enough on 9/11 to stop what happened on 9/11, and to me the biggest concern I have is the vulnerability of this country to cyberattacks.”

Witnesses also sounded the alarm on the potential for Iran to strike back at the U.S. in cyberspace in connection to the killing of Soleimani.

Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, the former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, testified that the recent Iranian missile strikes on an Iraqi base housing American troops will not be enough to satisfy Iranian leadership. 

“Listen to what the Iranian leadership says, the artillery strikes are not enough, they can’t defend everywhere,” Stewart said. “Americans are more vulnerable to cyber threats than any other nation because of their high level of dependency on cyber infrastructure. It is important for us to listen to what their leaders say.”

Thomas Warrick, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a witness at the hearing, emphasized that anything the U.S. did to Iran in cyberspace Iran will “do back at us in some unusual way.”

“Cyber threats from Iran are certain and ongoing,” Warrick said.

The globe’s top five risks are all climate-related, according to an analysis released Wednesday from the World Economic Forum.

The Switzerland-based nonprofit analyzes worldwide risks annually, looking at a wide variety of economic, health and geopolitical issues. This year, many of the top problems facing the globe had direct links to climate and the environment.

Risk experts “are also sounding the alarm, ranking climate change and related environmental issues as the top five risks in terms of likelihood — the first time in the survey’s history that one category has occupied all five of the top spots,” the group wrote in its in its report. 

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Extreme weather, climate action failure, natural disasters, biodiversity loss and human-made environmental disasters constituted the top five risks. 

Climate scientists have cited the ongoing fires in Australia as an example of how extreme weather caused by climate change can exacerbate natural disasters, displacing humans while devastating plant and animal life along the way. 

The report noted growing dissatisfaction from citizens, citing protests and the potential for political unrest as world leaders fail to come to a consensus on how to deal with climate change.

“Despite the need to be more ambitious when it comes to climate action, the UN [United Nations] has warned that countries have veered off course when it comes to meeting their commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change,” the report said.

The top cybersecurity official on former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPeter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegWarren-Sanders fight raises alarm on the left New Hampshire Rep. Kuster endorses Buttigieg Hillicon Valley: Trump turns up heat on Apple over gunman’s phone | Mnuchin says Huawei won’t be ‘chess piece’ in trade talks | Dems seek briefing on Iranian cyber threats | Buttigieg loses cyber chief MORE’s presidential campaign has resigned. 

Mick Baccio, who served as Buttigieg’s chief information security officer, told the news outlet CyberScoop that he left the campaign earlier this month due to “fundamental philosophical differences with the campaign management regarding the architecture and scope of the information security program.”

Baccio’s resignation comes amid renewed concerns of foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. elections. Just this week, The New York Times reported that Russian military officials hacked the Ukrainian gas company at the center of President TrumpDonald John TrumpDem lawmaker says Nunes threatened to sue him over criticism Parnas: U.S. ambassador to Ukraine removed to clear path for investigations into Bidens Five takeaways from Parnas’s Maddow interview MORE’s impeachment proceedings.

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Baccio, a former cyber official in the Obama administration, was hired by Buttigieg’s campaign last summer to help protect it from hackers and other online threats. The hire made Buttigieg’s campaign the first to bring on a full-time staff member to oversee cybersecurity.

Baccio did not elaborate on the disagreements that led to his resignation when reached by The Hill. A spokesperson for Buttigieg confirmed that he had resigned and said that the campaign had retained a new security firm.

“Mick resigned earlier this month and we thank him for the work he did to protect our campaign against attacks,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Our campaign has retained a new security firm and continues to be committed to digital security and protecting against cyber attacks.”

His resignation came just weeks before the Iowa caucuses, the first-in-the-nation nominating contest, on Feb. 3. 

Cybersecurity emerged as a significant topic of concern in the 2020 presidential election after the events of 2016, when Russian operatives hacked into the email accounts of Democratic operatives, including John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonWarren-Sanders fight raises alarm on the left Poll: Trump trails 2020 Democratic contenders in Michigan US company offers free cybersecurity assistance to campaigns MORE’s presidential campaign.

Federal law enforcement and intelligence officials have warned that foreign actors are poised to try to interfere in this year’s election as well. 

—Updated at 1:37 p.m.

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A new outfit from Kelly Tucker of Alterations Needed, whom we introduced to YLF in July 2013.

This is a great take on Angie’s graphic tee outfit formula. Kelly has tucked a black Ramones T-shirt into white cropped straight jeans with step hem and frayed trims. This shows the on-trend high waist and lengthens the leg line. The black pointy-toe booties with stud embellishments add fun and maximal glam, and further play up the hard-edged rocker’s vibe of the look. The tailored menswear tuxedo topper adds a sharp and dressy integrity, and refines the vibe. The unexpected white bottoms add a crisp and graphic lightness, while the tuxedo stripe echoes the black in the rest of the outfit. Silver bracelets and rings, black sunnies, and dark red lipstick complete the look.

Il y a un an, Cara Delevingne s’était émue de la mort du célèbre lion Cécil, tué par un chasseur du nom de Walter Palmer au Zimbabwe. Comme de nombreux internautes et personnalités, elle avait dénoncé cet acte cruel. Aujourd’hui, elle participe à un projet de sensibilisation en se déshabillant pour défendre la cause des animaux.

La crinière sauvage, le regard félin, Cara Delevingne a posé nue devant l’objectif du photographe français Arno Elias. Choisie comme ambassadrice de la campagne “I’m Not a Trophy” mise en place par une organisation de défense des animaux, l’actrice, qui a décidé de mettre fin à sa carrière de mannequin, a décidé de poser à nouveau pour la bonne cause.

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Elle a publié sur son compte Instagram de magnifiques photos d’elle, le corps nu et recouvert de dessins colorés d’animaux menacés de disparition. “Je suis tellement fière d’être l’ambassadrice de la campagne ‘I’m Not a Trophy’, pour créer une prise de conscience de ces actes odieux de braconnage et de chasse aux trophées à l’égard des espèces en danger.”

Gorilles, éléphants, zèbres, léopards … Tous les animaux les plus beaux mais aussi les plus menacés de la planète se retrouvent étalés sur le corps du top model. Une initiative percutante dont le but est de donner de la visibilité à la lutte contre le braconnage de masse. Comme elle l’a confié au site de Marie Claire, l’actrice n’espère pas seulement aider la cause animale, elle souhaite aussi donner plus de pouvoir aux femmes à travers cette initiative. Car la femme non plus n’est pas un trophée.

I am so proud to be the an ambassador of @imnotatrophy organization to create greater awareness in the malicious acts of trophy hunting and poaching of endangered species! imnotatrophy.org

A post shared by Cara Delevingne (@caradelevingne) on Jun 3, 2016 at 1:37am PDT

Crédits photos : Instagram @caradelevingne