Russia export controls and sanctions

European telcos and internet companies are acting to help Ukraine after the Russian invasion, they said this week. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton discussed the need to counter Russian state-sponsored disinformation with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who confirmed the company won't comply with new Russian obligations to stream 20 federal TV stations, according to a European Commission readout of the Tuesday call. The European Telecommunications Network Operators Association said Monday its members "are rolling out measures to ease communications and support people in distress." Measures so far include free international calls to Ukraine; free Wi-Fi in refugee camps; and distribution of SIM cards to refugees arriving in neighboring countries. For the time being, the war isn't likely to have a significant impact on European telcos or ISPs, emailed telecom consultant Innocenzo Genna: COVID-19 has been much more disruptive because of the increased traffic and the disruption of maintenance/repair supply chains. But he told us some European telecom operators may now face uncertainties when dealing with Russian clients such as carriers, banks and corporations: Can they continue to trade with them? Will the payment system supporting contracts continue? Is there an embargo on the horizon? The most important concern now is cyberwarfare, Genna said. Attacks may become more frequent and Russia itself is under attack by Anonymous. Western companies are realizing they may have a digital sovereignty problem with Russian services and products: The most controversial are Telegram (messaging) and Kaspersky (anti-filter). The latter, commonly used by European companies and public bodies, now risks being banned, he said. An ICANN spokesperson confirmed it received a letter from Ukraine asking it to ban Russia from the domain name system. The letter wasn't available on the ICANN website.

House members are pushing competing kids' privacy bills in an attempt to keep pace with bipartisan efforts in the Senate (see 2202280060). But talks in the lower chamber have been fragmented, House Commerce Committee members told us Tuesday at a House Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing.

Major U.S. carriers began allowing free calls and texts, to and from Ukraine, after Russia's invasion of the country last week. Details vary. Through Thursday, T-Mobile is waiving international long-distance and international roaming charges for calls and SMS made between the U.S. and Ukraine for T-Mobile and Sprint postpaid and prepaid consumer and business customers, the carrier said: “This includes calls made within Ukraine to local numbers to cover roaming customers in Ukraine.” On Saturday, T-Mobile added calls and texts to and from the U.S. and Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. AT&T is offering consumer and business customers unlimited long-distance calling from the U.S. to Ukraine, through Monday. “This offer is valid for all consumer and business AT&T Postpaid & PREPAID wireless customers, and consumer VoIP and landline customers,” the carrier said: “Unlimited texts to this region are standard with Mobile Share and Unlimited Texting plans.” Verizon is waiving charges for calls from postpaid consumer and business wireless customers and residential landlines to and from Ukraine, through March 10. The company is waiving voice and text roaming charges for customers in Ukraine. UScellular said customers can make outbound calls to Ukraine without paying international dialing rates through the end of March: “Postpaid customers will have charges automatically waived. Prepaid customers whose plans allow for international dialing can call customer service … or *611 from their mobile phone to receive credits for applicable calls.”

The House Commerce Committee is reviewing a bipartisan Senate proposal on children’s privacy, but Democrats see their privacy bill language as the proper base text for comprehensive legislation, said Syd Terry, chief of staff for House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairwoman Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.

SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband "is now active in Ukraine," with more terminals en route, CEO Elon Musk tweeted Saturday. His tweet was in response to a tweet from Ukraine Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov saying that while Musk tries "to colonize Mars -- Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space -- Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand." Fedorov on Monday tweeted a photo of a truck filled with what appeared to be Starlink receivers and thanked Musk.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a notice of inquiry seeking comment on the cybersecurity vulnerabilities of the internet’s global routing system, said an FCC release Friday. “Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security warned U.S. organizations at all levels that they could face cyber threats stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” the release said. The draft NOI concerns “the security and integrity of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP),” which is “the routing protocol used to exchange reachability information among independently managed networks on the Internet.” Due to vulnerabilities in BGP, it's possible to deliberately falsify “BGP reachability information” to redirect internet traffic, the release said. “Russian network operators have been suspected of exploiting BGP’s vulnerability to hijacking in the past,” the release said. That can lead to exposure of personal information, theft, extortion, “and state-level espionage,” the release said. The draft NOI also focuses on vulnerabilities in “the transmission of data through email, e-commerce, bank transactions, interconnected Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and 911 calls,” the release said.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is preparing to release guidance on how to identify and mitigate risks of misinformation and malware attacks, given rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, CISA Director Jen Easterly said Friday. CISA hasn’t identified specific, credible threats to the “U.S. homeland,” but agencies and entities need to be ready for digital risk, she said during an Aspen Institute livestream. Private entities are more likely to experience threats first, so it’s important for businesses to report incidents to CISA, she said. That way the government can assess “seemingly disparate events,” she said.

Senators will try to attach mandatory cyber incident reporting language to must-pass legislation or other vehicles in the near future, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., told us Tuesday.

Low earth orbit (LEO) altitudes are becoming problematic or carry sizable risks due to orbital debris, experts told us. Increased attention and research is focusing on LEO carrying capacity. Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg said those orbital issues will become a major factor in where operators decide to put constellations. It could mean operators wanting the competitive advantage from those orbital altitudes will use cheap satellites with a relatively low consequence for failure, he said. "It's a race to the bottom."

American Doreen Bogdan-Martin likely faces a tough election to become ITU secretary-general, facing a formidable challenger in Russian nominee Rashid Ismailov, a former Russian deputy telecommunications minister and former Huawei executive. ITU watchers told us Bogdan-Martin is in a strong position and has been consolidating support from around the world, but Ismailov is also mounting a robust campaign. Gerald Gross was the last American to hold that job, from 1960 to 1965. Bogdan-Martin would be first woman to be elected to the top spot at the ITU.