In this week’s edition, Biden abandons strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan, CNAS publishes policy recommendations for industrial policy for semiconductors, the EB-5 visa program restarts with increased oversight, and the White House releases a new cybersecurity memo. Additionally, the Pentagon allocates $1.2 billion toward the biomanufacturing industry, Uber attributes the breach of their systems to Lapsus$, and Twitter expands researchers’ access to operations data.
Industrial Policy & International Security
Rewire: Semiconductors and US Industrial Policy | CNAS
In this report, Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology analyzes the history of industrial policy toward semiconductors to make recommendations for today’s US government. He argues that increasing government investment in the semiconductor industry is insufficient to produce the sort of economic and national security results required to outcompete China. Miller suggests that the US government focus industrial policy on four objectives: promoting technological advances; guaranteeing resilience and integrity of supply; retaining control of choke point technologies; and working with allies to retain US technological advantage over China. Developing effective policies to support these objectives will require that decision makers gain a deeper understanding of the semiconductor industry and its complex supply chain.
During an interview on 60 Minutes, President Biden stated that, “Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence…that’s their decision.” The White House later clarified that US policy towards Taiwan has not changed. Understanding that a declaration of independence would likely provoke a Chinese attack on the island, the US policy since 1982 has been to support the status quo. Regardless, Beijing will likely interpret President Biden’s remarks as an indicator that US policy is changing and, as a result, will seek to strengthen their offensive posture in the Taiwan Strait. If President Biden commits to strategic clarity on Taiwan, it should be consistent with existing US one-China policy and complemented with credible deterrence to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific.
UN limits on display in Security Council showdown | Politico
No meaningful action is likely to result from the diplomatic engagement between the US, Ukrainian, and Russian officials at the UN Security Council meeting. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived to deliver his remarks, in which he accused the “Nazi-like” government of Ukraine as being the aggressor, and quickly departed without listening to others’ statements. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba challenged many countries’ positions of neutrality on the war and condemned Lavrov’s allegations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken showed support for Ukraine and declared that President Putin is responsible for ending the war. This week, Putin announced plans for massive mobilization of new troops and threatened to use nuclear weapons.
US Regulation
Controversial US visa draws rich from China to India after reset | Bloomberg
After a lapse of almost a year, Congress revived the EB-5 visa program, which offers green cards in exchange for significant investment in a US business that also results in the creation of at least ten permanent jobs. New legislation surrounding the program seeks to deter fraud but also creates fast tracks for investors willing to operate in rural or economically depressed areas. American law firms are already experiencing increased demand from wealthy applicants in China and India. Investment migration consultant Henley & Partners estimates that approximately 10,000 high-net-worth residents in China will pull $48 billion out of the country while 8,000 Indians are seeking to do the same. Globally, only Russia is expected to lose more rich residents compared to the two Asian nations.
The way to police big tech is through US states | The Washington Post
While tech regulation has stalled in Congress–likely a permanent condition if the Republicans win a majority in the House–state legislatures are making more progress. Last week, California passed a law requiring large internet companies to make their sites safe for children and its 2020 privacy law has become a national standard by default. Texas and Florida are pushing for less regulation of political speech online but their laws are tied up in the Supreme Court. And twenty-five states are pursuing privacy laws. Big tech companies and industry groups have been heavily engaged in policy development at the state level and Amazon even drafted language for a privacy bill that became law in Virginia. Increasing regulation at the state level will likely set benchmarks for and create momentum for future federal laws. If advocacy groups don’t get more involved in state-level policy debates, they may miss an opportunity to shape US tech policy.
Innovation
Pentagon to pour $1.2 billion into ‘critical’ biomanufacturing industry | Breaking Defense
Over the next five years, the Department of Defense will inject $1.2 billion into biomanufacturing in accordance with a new White House executive order to advance the bioeconomy. The DoD will invest $1 billion in biomanufacturing infrastructure and the remaining $200 million will be directed toward biosecurity and cybersecurity improvements across US facilities. The Department is hopeful that advancements in biotechnology will provide alternative sources for critical materials, produce novel materials to support the development of existing and new capabilities, and streamline logistics and resupply operations. The Center for a New American Security published a report last month claiming the US could fall behind in biotechnology because the private sector is biased against risk, slowing development. With this funding, the DoD is in a position to grow domestic industry.
NASA’s Artemis 1 moon launch scheduled for Sept. 27 despite gathering storm | Space.com
Despite warnings of a storm that could turn into a hurricane in the Caribbean, NASA is sticking to plans for the launch of Artemis 1 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis 1 is the first flight of NASA’s moon exploration program. The launch was previously delayed due to technical glitches, which have since been addressed. The US Space Force has approved a launch window through October 2nd during which it is prepared to destroy the Space Launch System rocket if it goes off course on its mission to deliver an uncrewed Orion capsule into lunar orbit. NASA will continue to reevaluate weather models as the launch date approaches. If peak wind speeds surpass 74 knots, it will have to be rolled off the launch pad back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Regardless, the weather will have to be good on launch day. SpaceX’s Crew-5 astronaut mission is also scheduled for launch from Kennedy Space Center a week later.
Cyber
Uber names hacking group responsible for cyberattack | CNET
Uber attributed the recent breach of its internal systems to hacking group Lapsus$. The company believes an EXT contractor’s personal device was infected with malware that exposed their credentials, which were likely purchased on the dark web. Lapsus$ used similar tactics to attack Microsoft, Cisco, Samsung, Nvidia, Okta, and Rockstar Games. While the attack on Uber did not compromise the company’s services or users’ personal data, the hacking group posted on the company-wide Slack channel and reconfigured some internal sites to display a graphic image to employees. Uber took down several internal systems for a number of hours to address the breach and is working with the FBI and the US Department of Justice on an investigation.
White House cyber memo compels vendors to attest software meets security standards | FedScoop
The White House issued a new memo requiring federal agencies to obtain self-attestation from software providers that they are in compliance with NIST supply chain security requirements. The memo is part of a larger push by the Biden administration to modernize federal agencies’ cyber defenses. Industry executives prefer the self-attestation model to a third-party verification process. The Office of Management and Budget will enforce the new requirement and collaborate with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency and General Services Administration to develop a central repository for software attestations. Federal agencies have 90 days from the publication of the memo to inventory their software and 120 days to implement a process for communicating requirements and collecting self-attestation letters from software providers.
State & Local Tech Ecosystems
Austin tech salaries rising faster than Silicon Valley | Axios
According to Hired’s State Tech Salaries report, local tech salaries in the United States are growing more competitive. With an average tech salary of $157,612, Austin ranked fifth behind the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, New York, and Boston. Adjusted for cost of living, Austin’s position jumps to second place. Average local tech salaries increased the most in Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, and Philadelphia. Tech workers are leaving traditional hubs for areas where their salary stretches further but Hired CEO Josh Brenner notes that prospective employees are also drawn to companies with flexible work policies, competitive benefits, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
What Silicon Valley’s venture history can teach global investors | Forbes
Forbes interviewed Sebastian Mallaby about his recent book, The Power Law, and the venture capital ecosystem in Silicon Valley. In The Power Law, Mallaby explores the history of the area’s leading firms and their impact on innovation and the global economy. He tells Forbes that successful venture firms will likely find new ways to differentiate themselves today instead of mimicking A16Z or Benchmark. Mallaby believes advantages will come from atypical geography that allows fund managers access to new markets, specialized networks (e.g., among financial institutions or defense organizations), or global reach that supports early efforts to scale internationally. One clear area for improvement is at the growth stage; instead of deferring to founders, growth investors should exercise greater oversight and governance over portfolio companies.
Democracy Online
Pentagon opens sweeping review of clandestine psychological operations | The Washington Post
According to new research by Graphika and the Stanford Internet Observatory, over the past few years Twitter and Facebook have taken down over 150 bogus user accounts and media sites created in the United States. While the researchers did not attribute fake accounts to the US military, the DoD is under scrutiny for the use of social media in military information support operations. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl requested that psychological operations units fully account for their activities. While fake military-run accounts violate the social media platforms’ policy, it’s unclear whether they violate federal policy as long as they’re distributing truthful information. In 2019, Congress passed Section 1631, which allows the military to conduct clandestine psychological operations in the information environment to push back against foreign disinformation. However, government officials are concerned that federal social media policy is too broad and both overt and covert activity may be eroding US credibility abroad. Graphika and Stanford found that overtly run US accounts received much more engagement online, which suggests the risk these tactics pose may not be worth the reward.
Twitter allows more researchers to access platform data | TechCrunch
Twitter is expanding membership eligibility for the Twitter Moderation Research Consortium (TMRC) established earlier this year. TMRC members have access to operations data going back to 2018, including disclosures related to persistent misinformation campaigns, to support research into platform governance issues. All researchers affiliated with eligible organizations who have demonstrated backgrounds in independent research are welcome to apply for membership (undergraduate students and individuals or groups that would share TMRC data with third parties are ineligible). Going forward, Twitter expects to share more data with researchers about other policy areas and usage data related to the war in Ukraine.
Anti-vax groups use carrot emojis to hide Facebook posts | BBC
Facebook’s content moderation algorithms focus more on words than images. Anti-vax groups are taking advantage of this gap to share unverified claims of people being harmed or even killed by vaccines, which are denoted by the carrot emoji. When alerted, Facebook removed the groups for violating their misinformation policies. But the groups reappeared and some advertised rules to evade detection: “use code words for everything,” especially covid, vaccine, or booster.
