Cybersecurity Training in Rural Communities | Russian Corruption Ransomware | Authoritarian Regimes & Hacking Tools, and more

Amess, 69, was killed at a church on Friday in Leigh-on-Sea, east of London, as he met voters in his constituency. He was the second British lawmaker to be killed in five years prompting calls for better security for politicians. A 25-year-old man, arrested at the scene, is being questioned over Amess’s murder by detectives who are treating it as a possible terrorist attack linked to Islamist extremism.

Luján Introduces Bill to Hold Tech Platforms Accountable for Algorithmic Promotion of Extremist Content  (Carol A. Clark, Los Alamos Daily Post)
…The legislation is supported by a number of leading organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Counter Extremism Project, American Jewish Committee, Consumer Reports, Common Sense Media, and News Media Alliance. “Social media’s problematic business model puts profits over people by optimizing for engagement at any cost—even if that means amplifying and promoting hate, harassment, and violence on their platforms. These companies track us, collect our data, and then deploy personalized algorithms to keep us engaged on social media for as long as possible so they can sell as many advertisements as possible. The byproduct? Elevating and amplifying hateful, divisive, antisemitic, and conspiracy content that too often leads to tangible harm. We applaud efforts like the Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms Act and the leadership of Sen. Luján and Representatives Malinowski and Eshoo in working to fight dangerous algorithmic amplification and give victims tools to seek redress,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League said.

Bipartisan Antiterrorism Bill Introduced (Rep. Val Demings’s Office)
The Homeland Security Capabilities Preservation Act would expand funding to urban areas previously designated as potential targets.

Bringing Cybersecurity Training to Rural Communities (CISA)
As part of its mission to recruit diverse cybersecurity talent and build the workforce of the future, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has awarded $2 million to two innovative organizations for development of cyber workforce training programs. The NPower and CyberWarrior organizations, which received the awards, will focus on the unemployed and underemployed; underserved communities in urban and rural areas; as well as traditionally underserved populations, to include veterans, military spouses, women, people of color. The awards are the first of their kind from CISA.  Their announcement coincides with week three of CISA’s Cybersecurity Summit and its theme, “Team Awesome: The Cyber Workforce.”

Russian Corruption Makes It Harder to Crack Down on Ransomware  (Patrick Tucker, Defense One)
Hackers who learned skills in government service are branching out “for their own personal enrichment,” Pentagon cyber leader says

U.S. Govt to Ban Export of Hacking Tools to Authoritarian Regimes  (Sergiu Gatlan, Bleeping Computer)
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) today announced new controls that would ban U.S. companies from exporting and reselling software and hardware tools that could be used to fuel authoritarian practices through malicious hacking activities and human rights abuse.
The rule will become effective in 90 days and will effectively ban the export of “cybersecurity items” for National Security (NS) and Anti-terrorism (AT) reasons.