The Hill

‏Verified account @thehill

Leaked documents show Huawei helped North Korea build wireless network: report

http://hill.cm/qSPW2S7

Leaked documents show Huawei helped North Korea build wireless network: report

By Chris Mills Rodrigo - 07/22/19 08:21 AM

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei secretly helped the North Korean government build and maintain a wireless network, the Washington Post reported Monday.

Internal documents obtained by the outlet show Huawei worked with Chinese state-owned firm, Panda International Information Technology, for at least eight years on a variety of projects.

The partnership reportedly makes it difficult to discern Huawei's involvement in the projects.

A former Huawei employee shared detailed spreadsheets, telling the Post that the information is of public interest. Others shared past work orders and contracts.

Taken together, the documents raise concern that Huawei, which has used American technology in its products, violated U.S. export controls to furnish equipment to North Korea.

The Commerce Department, which declined to comment to The Hill, has been investigating alleged links between Huawei and North Korea since 2016, according to the Post.

Huawei also did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Hill but told the Post it “has no business presence” in North Korea.

“Huawei is fully committed to comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries and regions where we operate, including all export control and sanction laws and regulations” of the United Nations, United States and European Union, the company told the Post.

Huawei was added to the Commerce Department's entity list in May, though the agency granted a 90-day extension before it went into effect to give American companies time to adjust. Lawmakers and experts have raised concerns that Huawei's connections to the Chinese government make it a national security threat.

Inclusion on the list is seen as a death sentence for Huawei, as it bans U.S. companies from doing business with the entity.

The move was thrown into question when President Trump announced at the Group of 20 Summit in Japan last month that U.S. companies would be allowed to sell equipment to Huawei if there were no national security concerns involved.

The Justice Department has separately charged Huawei with violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The company has pleaded not guilty.

Updated at 10:05 a.m.

Equifax to pay up to $700 million to feds, states in 2017 data breach settlement

By Harper Neidig - 07/22/19 07:19 AM EDT

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/454096-equifax-to-pay-575-million-to-feds-states-in-2017-data-breach-settlement?__twitter_impression=true

Equifax will pay $575 million in fines for the massive 2017 data breach that exposed sensitive information for 147 million people.

The sum is part of a settlement announced Monday morning with 50 U.S. attorneys general, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The settlement requires Equifax to pay $300 million to a compensation fund for victims of the breach and could end up paying an additional $125 million if the fund runs out — meaning the company could end up paying as much as $700 million.

Equifax will also pay $175 million to a coalition of 50 states and territories, as well as $100 million to the CFPB.

“Equifax failed in its fundamental responsibility to safeguard consumers’ sensitive financial information,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) said in a statement. “Equifax knew that there were serious flaws in their system, but still they did not take appropriate steps to fix it. They left their system vulnerable to the biggest data breach in history and the financial futures of millions of Americans were put at risk—and it was entirely preventable.”

Attorneys general from 48 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico were involved in the settlement.

The agreement outlined in the FTC's complaint with a federal court in Georgia faults Equifax for failing to "provide reasonable security for the massive quantities of sensitive personal information stored within Defendant’s computer network."

The settlement will require Equifax to implement a stronger cybersecurity program and submit to annual assessments of its protections. And starting in 2020 it will also have to provide consumers with six free credit reports a year for the next seven years.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee, said in a statement that that settlement didn't go far enough after Equifax put 100 million Americans at risk.

"This settlement does not come close to making consumers whole and, once again, shows the limitations on the FTC's ability to seek strong penalties and effective redress for consumers," he said in a statement. "It also shows that we need a comprehensive data privacy and security law to ensure companies are designing their systems to protect consumer privacy from the start, minimizing the personal information they keep, and are held appropriately accountable if they fail."

The fines come nearly two years after Equifax first announced the breach in September 2017. Since then, the company has been dragged before Congress numerous times to explain its handling of the incident, which compromised Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth and home addresses.

"This comprehensive settlement is a positive step for U.S. consumers and Equifax as we move forward from the 2017 cybersecurity incident and focus on our transformation investments in technology and security as a leading data, analytics, and technology company," Equifax CEO Mark Begor said in a statement. "The consumer fund of up to $425 million that we are announcing today reinforces our commitment to putting consumers first and safeguarding their data — and reflects the seriousness with which we take this matter."

Updated at 9:47 a.m.