Ukraine's digital domain has been impressively resilient in the face of Russian aggression, speakers said at a Monday Centre for European Policies hybrid event on how new technologies can help rebuild the country. Ukraine's activities in cybersecurity, transitioning to digital platforms and communicating with its citizens have been extraordinary, said Mark Bowman, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development vice president-policy and partnerships. The country has been proactive in developing its digital sector, such as by investing time and resources in the creation of an app that allows refugees to go to European countries with digital documents, said CEPS Research Fellow Tinatin Akhvlediani. The government made many legislative changes during the conflict to digitize key government services, she said. Microsoft contributed to Ukrainian resilience by identifying cyberattacks and warning the government, and by helping transfer data to the cloud outside the country, said Nanna-Louise Wildfang-Linde, vice president-European government affairs. It also helped identify and combat misinformation and is working with the International Court of Justice to collect and protect documentation of war crimes in the cloud, she said. Ukraine receives about 20% of all the world's cyberattacks, but it continues to function well, she said. When war broke out, the European Commission had to ensure backup and data storage outside Ukraine and help route and reroute communications traffic, said Pearse O'Donohue, European Commission Future Networks Directorate director. To do that, the EC tweaked roaming and data protection regulations to enable backup and storage of sensitive Ukrainian data and allow more cooperation between mobile operators and service providers. O'Donohue cited anecdotal evidence of people performing battlefield repairs of networks between Ukraine and nearby friendly nations. The EC is also battling disinformation and propaganda, he said. Asked what Ukraine may need in the future, Akhvlediani noted about 40% of the population lacked computers at home before the invasion, and one-third didn't use the internet for anything but social media. Ukraine has a gap in digital infrastructure and computer skills, but about 80% of the population accesses social media, making them vulnerable to disinformation and Russian propaganda, she said. For the nation's long-term needs, policymakers must analyze the region's vulnerabilities, said O'Donohue. Ukraine's physical infrastructure is vulnerable, although there has been relatively little damage to radio access networks except for masts, he noted. And there are also risks to the internet backbone -- such as domain name servers and root server -- for which multiple paths and backups are needed, he said. Another vulnerability arises from the internet being global and open to all, which invites misinformation, he said. Europe has had a massive number of cyberattacks, many highly sophisticated, and government cooperation against them will be part of the future, O'Donohue said: As economies become more digitally sophisticated, they're more vulnerable to cyberattacks, and digital defense will have to become part of policy.

5G's better connectivity carries potential risks to data protection and cybersecurity, and the regulatory landscape is murky, Hogan Lovells attorneys said Wednesday on a virtual law firm panel. To achieve increased connectivity, international data transfers must be more seamless and frequent than now, but legal frameworks currently restrict data flows, said Eduardo Ustaran. As 5G enables more data transfers, assessing the risks it poses becomes more important, he said. The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office requires organizations to undertake data risk assessments, but 5G changes the situation by introducing a new element of technology and possibly new equipment vendors. The picture is changing rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region, where there's a patchwork of fast-changing laws in each jurisdiction, with more restrictions on data transfers, said Mark Parsons. AI facilitated by 5G will have a growing significance in people's lives and will also accelerate the body of law around it, Ustaran said. Current laws commonly mandate increased accountability and governance for organizations involved in developing AI, he said. 5G was designed during an era more safety-focused than earlier mobile iterations, and some of its improvements do away with entire catalogs of cybersecurity threats, said Nathan Salminen: But every software has vulnerabilities, and "the danger here is unknown." The technology enables a huge amount of metadata that could threaten cybersecurity, said Ana Rumualdo; network and device security, encryption and government regulation will be important, as will limits on who can access all that real-time data. Asked about the current and future regulatory scene, speakers urged businesses to expect change. The U.K. wants to show its departure from the EU can deliver some benefits and the current government wants to support innovation and technological development, so will likely try a lighter regulatory approach, said Ustaran. Expect a more risk-based approach to regulation for technology and 5G, but also much uncertainty about what companies must do to comply, he said. The EU is focused on accountability and data governance; it worries about how much real-time data from individuals will be made available and how people can effectively enforce their rights, said Joke Bodewits. The U.S. has begun regulating critical infrastructure and software more closely, and many pieces of 5G will fall under those measures, said Salminen: Expect to see more 5G-specific legislation in coming years. There's a "glimmer" of convergence for privacy and data protection rules in Asia, but not as much of a focus on cybersecurity, said Parsons. Some countries, such as China and Vietnam, now have many regulations on 5G uses, and that trend will continue, raising questions about potential Balkanization across the region, he added.

GSMA warned that European deployment of 5G is proceeding more slowly than in the U.S., Japan and South Korea. At the end of June, operators in 34 European markets had launched commercial 5G services, with consumer take-up growing to 6% of the mobile customer base, said the Wednesday report: “Norway leads in adoption of the technology, with 16% now using 5G, but positive momentum is also evident in Switzerland (14%), Finland (13%), the U.K. (11%) and Germany (10%).” GSMA forecasts the adoption rate across Europe will hit 44% by 2025, led by the U.K. and Germany. “That rapid growth is outpaced by other world economies, with South Korea expected to hit 73% in the same time period” and “Japan and the US are likely to achieve 68% adoption,” the report said.

Dahua USA is fighting back at the FCC to keep from having its products barred from being authorized for use in the U.S. Dahua is already on the FCC’s “covered list” of mostly Chinese companies that are a security risk. After meeting with aides to Commissioner Brendan Carr last week (see 2209220049), Dahua met with staff from the Office of General Counsel. Dahua “discussed an overview of its equipment sold in North America and explained how Dahua Equipment is typically considered a peripheral device, and many of its products are neither video nor telecommunications equipment,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-232 on the latter meeting: The company “then described its cybersecurity firmware strategy, framework, and design, emphasized that cybersecurity is the most important focus of its product design.”

U.K. regulator Ofcom said Thursday it’s launching a probe of the nation’s cloud services market. “If competition concerns are identified it could lead to further action,” Ofcom said. Ofcom is also probing “digital services such as WhatsApp, Zoom and smart speakers, as online and traditional networks converge.” Cloud computing is "a huge and fast-growing market, which uses remote servers to offer services such as software, storage and computing power,” said a news release: “The user, who could be a person or business, makes use of these services but doesn’t manage them directly. The cloud has become an essential part of how products are delivered to telecoms users, as well as viewers and listeners of TV, radio and audio content.” Amazon, Microsoft and Google “generate around 81% of revenues in the UK public cloud infrastructure services market,” Ofcom said: “We will examine the strength of competition in cloud services generally and the position the three hyperscalers hold in the market.”

Chinese equipment maker Dahua asked for confidential treatment for information provided in a meeting Monday with staff for FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. Dahua “provided the Commission with additional information regarding its product offerings and applications in the U.S., its cybersecurity practices, and its proposed safeguards for ensuring [National Defense Authorization Act] compliance,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-232: “The Ex Parte also responds to certain questions raised by Commissioner Carr’s office.” In June (see Ref:2205020036]), Dahua told the FCC it has been unable to determine how much of its gear sold in the U.S. is “used for public safety, government facilities, critical infrastructure, and national security purposes.”

More than 10 million vehicles will be capable of short-range vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications by 2025, reported ABI Research Wednesday. The V2X movement is “full steam ahead” in China, nearing an “inflection point” in Europe and is “closer to getting the green light” in the U.S., it said. Europe last year was the region with the largest fleet of short-range V2X communication-enabled cars but all from a single automaker, Volkswagen, said ABI: "Given the lack of commitment of more automakers so far, by 2023, China alone will overtake Europe. The inauspicious scenario in Europe is leading industry players to place more emphasis on cellular network tests for the time being. However, there are still fundamental business model challenges to be overcome with this route.”

The FCC signed an updated memorandum of understanding with the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) that “expands their current partnership, with a new focus on combatting unwanted robocalls and the promotion of 5G, 6G, and beyond,” the FCC said Monday. “Our broadband and communications technology goals will be better achieved by working collaboratively with our partners and informed by lessons learned around the world,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The MOU “outlines how the FCC and BEREC will engage in regular information exchanges, including the sharing of the technical skill sets and best practices, and conduct bilateral meetings, seminars, and workshops to facilitate actions in their respective home countries around topics of mutual interest,” the regulator said.

The Bureau of Industry and Security released an interim final rule Thursday expanding an authorization for the release of some controlled software and technology to all entities on the agency’s Entity List if the release is for the purposes of standards-setting activities. Previously, the authorization had applied only for some Entity List entities, namely Huawei and its affiliates. The interim rule takes effect Friday. The long-anticipated interim final rule also amends definitions related to the authorization, including by setting a new definition for what is a standards-setting activity. It allows for the release of software and technology for cryptographic standards. The previously issued authorization had also mentioned only technology, and not software. Industry had called for the expansion of the authorization in recent years, saying that restricting the authorization to Huawei was causing uncertainty and chilling participation in standards bodies (see 2204130072). The national security threat from ceding U.S. participation “outweighs the risks related to the limited release of certain low-level technology and software to parties on the Entity List in the context of a ‘standards-related activity,’” BIS said in the new interim final rule.

Huawei “has been facing a lot of challenges the past few years,” including a 29% revenue decline in 2021 amid U.S. export sanctions and weakening smartphone demand, William Tian, Huawei Consumer Business Group president-West European region, said in an IFA 2022 keynote interview Saturday. “The past few years have been incredibly hard for everyone,” he said. “But we are still going. We are still innovating.” Said Tian: “We have not given up.”