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Ukraine at D+391: Attribution ambiguity. (CyberWire) A new, unattributed APT seems active in Russian occupied territories. A Russian proposal for new cyberspace norms.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 392 (Al Jazeera) As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 392nd day, we take a look at the main developments.

Ukraines Leadership Doubles Down on Bakhmut Defense as Russians Get Closer (Wall Street Journal) Ukrainian commanders say they are sapping Russian strength in the eastern city to give their planned offensive a better chance of success.

Russian cruise missiles destroyed in drone strike on Crimea train (The Telegraph) Kyiv says Kalibr missiles being transported on a train in Dzhankoi were destroyed while Russia's region chief blames drone attack

Ukraine, Russia Trade Claims After Blast Rocks Crimean Town (Military.com) Russian and Ukrainian officials have given conflicting accounts of what appeared to be a brazen attack on Russian cruise missiles being transported by train in Moscow-annexed Crimea.

Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida makes surprise visit to Ukraine (AP NEWS) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Kyiv for a surprise visit shortly after noon Tuesday, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in neighboring Russia for a three-day trip.

Xi, Putin signal unity against U.S. in joint statement (Nikkei Asia) China urges peace talks in Ukraine, Moscow backs Beijing on Taiwan

After Kremlin talks, Xi and Putin sign cooperation agreements as Japans leader visits Ukraine (Washington Post) Putin, Xi agree on expanding natural gas trade, other economic ties. Visit by Japans Kishida to Kyiv gives sharp contrast to Xi in Russia. Xi and Putin to meet for ceremony, talks and state dinner.

China lacks credibility to secure Ukraine ceasefire amid Russia drone fears (The Telegraph) Nato sceptical of Beijings plan for peace following reports that a Chinese firm was in talks to arm Moscow with kamikaze drones

Putin got very little out of Xis big visit except pomp and ceremony (The Telegraph) The Chinese presidents grand trip to Moscow looked like theatre that played more to his benefit than to Russias

Putins two-day charm offensive with Xi underlines whos boss (the Guardian) Kremlin toasts the Russian-Chinese partnership, which appears warm but far from equal

Why Xi can't solve Putin's Ukraine problem (The Telegraph) Chinese president could have profound influence but questions remain about whether he can, or wants to, end the war

7 myths standing in the way of Ukraines victory (POLITICO) If Kyiv is forced to settle, it will bring neither justice, nor peace. Only victory will stop Putin coming at us again.

Freeing Belarus from tyranny: A conversation with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (Atlantic Council) How can the United States and its Western allies help support freedom and self-determination in Belarus? What effect has Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine had on Belarusian democratic opposition and civil society?

Putin the Pariah: War crimes arrest warrant deepens Russias isolation (Atlantic Council) The ICC decision to indict Putin for war crimes is a highly consequential step that will deepen Russias international isolation while weakening Putins personal position both at home and abroad, writes Anders slund.

ICC arrest warrant for Putin is a step toward ending Russian impunity (Atlantic Council) The International Criminal Court decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin over his alleged role in the deportation of Ukrainian children has sparked a lively debate. Is the move truly historic or merely symbolic?

Putin warns UK it is ramping up war with its 'nuclear component' arms for Ukraine (The Telegraph) Britain confirms it will send depleted uranium shells, but Kremlin accused of 'bonkers' reaction at press conference with President Xi

Putin says Russia will respond if UK supplies depleted uranium shells to Ukraine (the Guardian) Russian leader reacts to comments by UK defence minister that Britain will supply armour-piercing rounds to Kyiv

The Army Digs in for Competition Against Russia, Sets Garrison in Poland (Military.com) The Army now has a permanent garrison in Poland, a major milestone underscoring that country's central role as a hub of NATO support for Ukraine's fight against invading Russian forces.

Absolutely a quick study: Ukrainians master Patriot system faster than expected (POLITICO) They are the best of the best in what they do in air defense for Ukraine," a U.S. general said.

Ukrainians to Get U.S. Tanks by Fall (U.S. Department of Defense) The U.S. will send M1A1 Abrams tanks from refurbished hulls already in U.S. inventory to Ukraine, and the delivery will be in the fall, which isfaster than what was initially expected.

US speeds up Abrams tank delivery to Ukraine war zone (AP NEWS) The Pentagon is speeding up its delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster, with the aim of getting the 70-ton battle powerhouses to the war zone by the fall, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

US to accelerate delivery of tanks to Ukraine (CNN) The US will dramatically accelerate the time it takes to ship Abrams tanks to Ukraine by sending older M1-A1 models of America's main battle tank instead of the more modern version of the tank, according to two US officials.

The Dangers of a New Russian Proposal for a UN Convention on International Information Security (Council on Foreign Relations) Russia recently issued a new draft for a UN international convention on cybersecurity. An alternative proposal offers a freer vision of internet governance, and would provide a more action-oriented p

Bad magic: new APT found in the area of Russo-Ukrainian conflict (Securelist) In October 2022, we identified an active infection of government, agriculture and transportation organizations located in the Donetsk, Lugansk, and Crimea regions.

Unknown actors target orgs in Russia-occupied Ukraine (Register) If this is Kyiv's work, Russia can Crimea river

New 'Bad Magic' Cyber Threat Disrupt Ukraine's Key Sectors Amid War (The Hacker News) New "Bad Magic" activity cluster targeting gov't, agriculture & transportation orgs in Donetsk, Lugansk & Crimea amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Partisan suspects turn on the cyber-magic in Ukraine (Cybernews) A previously unidentified threat actor is believed to be using new malware programs called CommonMagic and PowerMagic to phish for details of targets in disputed Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.

Hacker tied to D.C. Health Link breach says attack 'born out of Russian patriotism' (CyberScoop) The hacker who took responsibility for the D.C. Health Link breach claims to have targeted U.S. politicians out of allegiance for Russia.

Financial cyber threats heightened by ideologically motivated hacktivism amidst geopolitical tension (SC Media) Russia's war with Ukraine has triggered a surge in ideologically motivated hacktivism that persists to this day, posing by far the most significant impact on the cyber threat landscape for financial services, according to a report by the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

Review: Protecting and Defending Ukraines Cultural Identity (New York Times) A festival responds to the assaults and insults of war by celebrating the composer who shaped the nations contemporary music, Borys Liatoshynsky.

ENISA Transport Threat Landscape (ENISA) This report is the first analysis conducted by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) of the cyber threat landscape of the transport sector in the EU. The report aims to bring new insights into the reality of the transport sector by mapping and studying cyber incidents from January 2021 to October 2022. It identifies prime threats, actors and trends based on the analysis of cyberattacks targeting aviation, maritime, railway and road transport over a period of almost 2 years.

Ransomware likely to target transportation OT systems, warns EU cyber agency (Record) The European Union's cyber agency says ransomware is the biggest cyberthreat to Europe's ports, railways and aviation, and attackers are likely to target operational technology (OT) instead of information technology (IT) at some point.

Vulnerability Spotlight: Netgear Orbi router vulnerable to arbitrary command execution (Cisco Talos Blog) Cisco Talos recently discovered four vulnerabilities in the Netgear Orbi mesh wireless system, including the main hub router and satellite routers that extend the networks range.

From Ransomware to Cyber Espionage: 55 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Weaponized in 2022 (The Hacker News) 55 zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in 2022, mainly in software from Microsoft, Google, and Apple.

Chatbots, Celebrities, and Victim Retargeting: Why Crypto Giveaway Scams Are Still So Successful (Akamai) Akamai researchers have been monitoring several cryptocurrency giveaway scam kits that impersonate celebrities and brands, notably Elon Musk and his associated companies. The scams are delivered through various social media platforms as well as direct messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram.

ZenGo uncovers security vulnerabilities in popular Web3 Transaction Simulation solutions: The red pill attack (ZenGo) ZenGo uncovers security vulnerabilities in popular Web3 Transaction Simulation solutions: The red pill attack ZenGo is the first keyless bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallet the most simple and secure way to manage your crypto assets.

Google Pixel phones had a serious data leakage bug heres what to do! (Naked Security) What if the safe images you shared after carefully cropping them had some or all of the unsafe pixels left behind anyway?

Stopping a $36 Million Vendor Fraud Attack (Abnormal Intelligence) Abnormal recently observed an attempted vendor email compromise attack that sought to steal $36 million. Here's how we detected and stopped the attack.

Ransomware gangs incite fear in victims to fuel attacks (Cybersecurity Dive) Attacks involving data theft nearly doubled and harassment spiked 20 times by late 2022, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 said.

Harvest Keeper Rugged Users And Shows Why "AI Crypto" Can't Work (CryptoMode) Harvest Keeper boasted of being an AI project that "optimizes the trading process for maximum payout" and promised users a 4.81% return on deposits.

Personal details of 8,000 staff and clients compromised in cyber attack, health organisation says (ABC) After a lengthy investigation, an Aboriginal health organisation says hackers accessed Medicare numbers, licences, passports and tax file numbers in the attack last year.

Ferrari Extorted Over Client Database Breach (Tech Times) The Italian automaker opted not to pay the ransomhere's why!

WSJ News Exclusive | U.S. State-Government Websites Use TikTok Trackers, Review Finds (Wall Street Journal) The presence of the Chinese apps trackers means that U.S. states might be inadvertently participating in data-collection efforts for a foreign-owned company.

Cybercriminals care about security too: how shady business is done on the dark web (ANI News) Latest Kaspersky research reveals cybercriminals posted more than 1 million messages mentioning escrow services on the darknet in 2020-2022. Escrow agents are third-party intermediaries involved in such deals to control the fulfillment of agreements and reduce the risks of cheating. They partner with cybercriminals who want to sell or buy data, services, or conclude a partnership - usually earning from three to 15 per cent of the transaction. However, the deal can still fail for various reasons, including those related to escrow scams. How such business is done on the darknet is described in a new report by Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence team.

CISA Releases Eight Industrial Control Systems Advisories | CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) CISA released eight Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on March 21, 2023. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.

These Fortune 500 Companies Show Up Most Often in Compromised Password Data (Specops Software) Today, the Specops research team is sharing the results of their latest findings on the use of Fortune 500 company names in compromised passwords. The...

Fortinet Annual Skills Gap Rep (GuruFocus) New Fortinet research reveals escalating cyber risks due to the ongoing talent shortage while the number of organizations experiencing five or more breaches jumped by 53%

Only 1 in 10 workers remembers all their cyber security training (CybSafe) Only 1 in 10 workers remembers all their cyber security training. Read more...

Join the Brightest Startups at RSAC Innovation Sandbox (RSA Conference 2023) For 17 years, cybersecurity's boldest new innovators have competed in the RSAC Innovation Sandbox contest to put the spotlight on their potentially game-changing ideas. This year, 10 finalists will again have three-minutes to make their pitch to a panel of judges.

XM Cyber Announces Acquisition of Confluera, Adding Run-Time Protection on Cloud workloads to Extend CNAPP Capabilities (XM Cyber) Learn more about XM Cyber Announces Acquisition of Confluera, Adding Run-Time Protection on Cloud workloads to Extend CNAPP Capabilities . Read more on XM Cyber website.

dope.security Lands $16M in Funding for Fly-Direct Secure Web Gateway (Business Wire) Former Symantec, Forcepoint Product Leader Takes on Legacy Vendors, Disrupting SWG Market with Radical New Architecture

Backslash Security Emerges from Stealth to Fuse Code Security with Cloud-Native Context, Transforming a Decades-Long AppSec Paradigm (Yahoo Finance) Backed by StageOne Ventures and a stellar roster of security industry leaders, AppSec disruptor secures $8M to equip AppSec teams with visual control over cloud-native applications by identifying toxic code flows and automating threat models

Summers Predicts Cleaning Out of Fintech Sector After SVB Failure (The Information) Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted Silicon Valley will see a cleaning out in the fintech sector as a result of regulatory attention flowing from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. In an interview with The Informations editor in chief Jessica Lessin, Summers also said that the ...

Briefing: TikTok CEO to Pledge App Will be Free From Any Government Influence (The Information) TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will offer a broad series of promises to protect American users data and keep the app free from government interferencein his upcoming testimony to Congress. We will firewall protected U.S. user data from unauthorized foreign access, he will say, according to a copy of the prepared remarks . Tiktok will remain a platform for free expression and will not be

TikTok CEO appears on TikTok to warn users about the TikTok ban (The Verge) A message to the apps 150 million US users

TikTok bans deepfakes of nonpublic figures and fake endorsements in rule refresh (The Verge) TikTok says realistic deepfakes need to be clearly labeled.

TikTok is D.C.'s new boogeyman. Can Silicon Valleys tactics save them? (Washington Post) The app, owned by Beijing-headquartered ByteDance, is adopting the lobbying tactics of many of its American tech company peers

Here's Why CrowdStrike Is Thrilled to Partner With Dell (The Motley Fool) There's a lot of good stuff here for investors to think about.

Check Point tells employees no raises in 2023 (CTech) The Israeli cyber giant informed its employees that, in view of the economic situation, instead of salary increases, they will receive a special bonus of blocked shares for one year in the amount of 5% of their base salary

Radware Named a Gold Winner for Application Security in the 2023 Globee Cybersecurity Awards (GlobeNewswire News Room) Receives top honors for Radware SecurePath, its innovative application security architecture ...

Industry Veteran Kevin Senator Joins aDolus as CEO (EIN News) Experienced OT/IT/IoT executive to expand customer base

AppOmni Bolsters C-Suite with Key Leadership Appointments (Business Wire) SaaS security leader names new Chief Development Officer and Chief Customer Officer

NinjaOne Appoints Robert Gibbons as Chief Technology Officer (NinjaOne) Read first-hand accounts of how Ninja's products and superior support help companies deliver fast and effective IT management.

SaaS Data Security Leader DoControl Announces Christine Castro as its New Vice President of Marketing (PR Newswire) DoControl, the automated Software as a Service (SaaS) security company, today announced that Christine Castro has joined as Vice President of...

HUMAN Expands Legal and Compliance Capabilities with Newly-Appointed General Counsel (HUMAN Security) HUMAN Expands Legal and Compliance Capabilities with Newly-Appointed General Counsel, Kirsten Canton.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230322005527/en/Orca-Security-Appoints-Co-Founder-Gil-Geron-as-CEO (Business Wire) Strategic Changes Position Company for Next Stage of Growth as Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform Market Leader

This Ukrainian Startup Is Looking to Automate Crypto Crime Reporting Using Smart Contracts, AI (Yahoo Finance) HAPI Labs has launched a platform for reporting of scam- and crime-related addresses in partnership with Ukraines cyber police.

Intelligent CloudCare Launches Online Cybersecurity Employee Training Courses (GlobeNewswire News Room) Intelligent CloudCare, an IT services firm for small and medium-sized businessesand a subsidiary of...

ConnectWise Challenges IT Solution Providers to Prepare for the Future at IT Nation London Conference (GlobeNewswire News Room) MSP software leader kicks off annual conference in Europe with broad updates to tools and services and messages on solving challenges in time of rapid...

Cybersecurity & Compliance Platform from Onapsis Now an SAP Endorsed App Available on SAP Store (Onapsis) Customers can benefit from accelerated cloud and digital transformation initiatives through supplementary, independent cybersecurity and compliance capabilities.

Sophos Partners with Cowbell to Provide Businesses with Easier Access to Cyber Insurance (Sophos) Partnership Helps Organizations Apply for Cyber Insurance and Assess Security Health for Insurability

Sophos Partners with Cowbell (Sophos News) Providing Small and Medium Enterprises with streamlined access to cyber insurance coverage and facilitating optimal insurance provision for Sophos customers in the U.S. through the opt-in sharing o

Cellebrite Announces Enhanced Solution Capabilities for Digital Investigations (GlobeNewswire News Room) Cellebrite's latest AI-enabled Investigative Analytics Solution, Pathfinder X, equips investigators with new breadth of investigative tools and enterprise...

Cellebrite Announces RelativityOne Integration for Quicker, Safer Data Review (GlobeNewswire News Room) Cellebrites LegalView add-on for RelativityOne to simplify how modern data is collected and reviewed...

Dell strengthens security portfolio (IT-Online) Dell Technologies has announced new security services and solutions to help organisations protect against threats, respond to attacks and secure their devices, systems and clouds. Seventy-two percent of IT business leaders and professionals believe the changing working world exposes their organization to even greater risk. The highly distributed IT environment creates new opportunities for cybercriminals []

Launch of Virtru Private Keystore Enables Heightened Privacy and Secure Collaboration in the Cloud (GlobeNewswire News Room) Encryption Key Management Solution Gives Customers Full Control of Cloud-Hosted Data...

Cemtrex Announces Vicon End-to-End Security System Order for Next Generation Zero-Carbon Prison System in United Kingdom (GlobeNewswire News Room) $0.8 Million in Vicon Surveillance Equipment with Latest Smart Technologies to Better Protect Prisoners, Staff and Public...

OP[4] Launches with Groundbreaking IoT and Embedded Systems Security Tech (Yahoo Finance) Automated Platform Detects, Prioritizes, Remediates Exploitable VulnerabilitiesCHANTILLY, Va., March 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OP[4], a new company built on pioneering cybersecurity technology originally developed for DARPA and productized via AFWERX, launched today with over $2 million U.S. dollars in initial seed funding secured through a combination of product sales and private investment. OP[4]'s revolutionary security platform is designed to automatically find and fix N-Day and 0-Day vul

Vectra Unifies AI-driven Behavior-based Detection and Signature-based Detection in a Single Solution (Vectra news release) Published: Mar 22, 2023. Vectra Unifies AI-driven Behavior-based Detection and Signature-based Detection in a Single Solution. Visit our news releases page to read more!

Bluescape and Jazz Solutions Add Virtual Workspace Solutions to Automa (PRWeb) FedRAMP-certified Bluescape helps achieve new levels of agility for dispersed teams Bluescape, a visual collaboration and workspace platform,

Cohesity and OwnBackup Partner to Offer Simplified and Consolidated Data Protection for SaaS workloads (Cohesity) Leading Data Protection and Management Providers OwnBackup and Cohesity Join Forces to Streamline Data Backup for Customers and Elevate Business Continuity in the Ransomware Era

Lightspin Launches Remediation Hub to Identify and Fix the Cloud Security Threats that Matter Most (PR Newswire) Lightspin, the leading cloud security solution for SaaS companies, today launched the Remediation Hub as part of its cloud-native application...

CISA Releases Updated Cybersecurity Performance Goals (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) Today, we published stakeholder-based updates to the Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs). Originally released last October, the CPGs are voluntary practices that businesses and critical infrastructure owners can take to protect themselves against cyber threats

CISA and NSA Release Enduring Security Framework Guidance on Identity and Access Management | CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) As part of the Enduring Security Framework (ESF), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) has released Identity and Access Management Recommended Best Practices Guide for Administrators. These recommended best practices provide system administrators with actionable recommendations to better secure their systems from threats to Identity and Access Management (IAM).

ESF Partners, NSA, and CISA Release Identity and Access Management Recommended Best Practi (National Security Agency/Central Security Service) As part of the Enduring Security Framework (ESF), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published the Recommended Best Practices Guide for

Identity and Access Management: Recommended Best Practices for Administrators (NSA and CISA) Identity and access management (IAM) is a framework of business processes, policies, and technologies that facilitate the management of digital identities to ensure that users only gain access to data when they have the appropriate credentials.

How to Manage Cyber Risk as a Board Director (OODA Loop) The evolving responsibilities of board members to cyber security and cyber risk were highlighted as a theme in the OODA Almanac 2023. While cybersecurity has been a focus of corporate boardrooms in the past, it is about to become a required focus as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks to have companies identify a board of directors member as the cybersecurity lead. OODA has specific expertise supporting the nexus between technical cybersecurity and corporate governance risk management and looks forward to supporting a wide range of companies by either placing a cybersecurity expert directly on the board or working as a consultant to the board to help guide their strategic initiatives and ensure they are exercising due care in managing cyber risks. Following is a guide for board members as they begin to explore the impact of cyber risk on the fiduciary responsibilities of a board of directors.

Weak, Repetitive Passwords a Common Problem in Government, Says Report (FEDweek) Use of weak and/or repetitive passwords is a common problem in government, according to a report by a cybersecurity firm that is the latest caution about

Meet Data Privacy Mandates With Cybersecurity Frameworks (CPO Magazine) In the coming months, data protection laws will continue to evolve and strengthen, requiring organizations to refine their data protection policies further and take demonstrable steps to safeguard the privacy of individual customers information.

Proactive Defence : How Enterprises Are Using Dark Web Threat Intelligence - Searchlight Cyber (Searchlight Cyber) Download our latest research report - based on a survey of more than 1,000 CISOs in the US and UK - to find out how large enterprises are using dark web intelligence. We found that 93 percent of CISOs are concerned about dark web threats but the use of threat intelligence varies by geography and...

Opinion Social media is devastating teens mental health. Heres what parents can do. (Washington Post) If we are serious about addressing the alarming worsening of teens mental health, we must reduce their social media use.

What is the CIA Triad? - Check Point Software (Check Point Software) Learn what the CIA Triad is, and how potential cyber threats to an organizations systems are limited if they ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Cyber Warfare is Upon Us: Why the Next Generation of War Games so Important (Infosecurity Magazine) Modern businesses are increasingly used as pawns in cyber battles between nation-states and affiliated groups

Turing Award Won by Co-Inventor of Ethernet Technology (New York Times) In the 1970s, Bob Metcalfe helped develop the primary technology that lets you send email or connect with a printer over an office network.

Google Rolls Out Its Bard Chatbot to Battle ChatGPT (WIRED) A new bot has entered the chat. But Google warns that, like its competitor, it will sometimes hallucinate.

Google just launched Bard, its answer to ChatGPTand it wants you to make it better (MIT Technology Review) Under pressure from its rivals, Google is updating the way we look for information by introducing a sidekick to its search engine.

Amazon Faces Moment of Truth on Alexa as ChatGPT Steals Its Thunder (The Information) At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, Amazon announced one of its biggest partnerships yet to help make its Alexa voice assistant ubiquitous: a deal with Toyota to integrate Alexa into the auto giants cars. Our vision for Alexa is that she should be everywhere a customer might need herat ...

The case for slowing down AI (Vox) Pumping the brakes on artificial intelligence could be the best thing we ever do for humanity.

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Notes from the underworld. Cyberespionage in occupied Ukraine ... - The CyberWire

For years, party insiders have stressed that the donor class is too focused on federal races, and the highest profile ones at that. The lack of attention paid to state contests has not only led to more conservative policy outcomes in the states, they warn, but less Democratic talent moving through the ranks.

The DLGAs pitch to donors and other party leaders is a bench-building one: Todays lieutenant governors are tomorrows senators and governors. They also note that Democratic lieutenant governors best represent a party that increasingly relies on the support of non-white and women voters. Of the 25 Democratic second-in-commands, which includes states where the secretary of state fills that role, 14 are women and 12 are people of color.

It is the most diverse organization of elected officials in the country, said Austin Davis, who was recently elected as Pennsylvanias first Black lieutenant governor. If you look at the number of lieutenant governors that elevate whether to the U.S. Senate, whether its governor, whether its Congress this is clearly a bench of folks who are going to be leading our party into the future.

The DLGA is looking to fashion itself as a training ground for up-and-coming Democrats, connecting them with donors and helping them build policy chops as they consider their political futures beyond their current role.

For a long time, I think the role of lieutenant governor was sort of in the background, Peggy Flanagan, the Minnesota lieutenant governor who serves on the organizations executive committee, said in an interview during a meeting of the organization in Washington this week.

Two of Senate Democrats highest profile midterm recruits were lieutenant governors: Mandela Barnes, who narrowly lost in Wisconsin to incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson, and now-Sen. John Fetterman, who won a close contest in Pennsylvania against Trump recruit Mehmet Oz. And overall in 2022, four now-former lieutenant governors won election as their states chief executives, either winning a term outright or winning a full term of their own after previously assuming the governorship following a resignation.

DLGA leadership says that it is eager to foster members future ambitions. Kevin Holst, who was recently named the committees executive director, noted that would-be donors can form relationships early with a future rockstar in the party.

Holst said that, beyond putting LGs forth as key fundraisers, one particular area of focus would be turning the committee into a centralized services hub for current and aspiring lieutenant governors.

Its a unique committee in which we are focused on electing more LGs, but we recognize that LG isnt likely the endpoint for a lot of these elected officials, he said. Can we provide the fundraising support? Can we help with press support? Can we help with profile building in their states?

Republicans also have a party committee focused on lieutenant governors, which is an arm of the Republican State Leadership Committee. The GOP version focuses on all down ballot races in states, including state legislator and secretary of state contests. The RSLC lieutenant governors website notes that these experiences often prepare our lieutenant governors for higher office, and that over a third of the countrys Republican governors were previously lieutenant governors.

Two tests in the upcoming years for the DLGA will be North Carolina in 2024 and Virginia in 2025, states where the lieutenant governor is elected independently of the governor.

The officeholders in both states are currently Republicans and both are considered potential gubernatorial candidates in the upcoming cycle.

Part of the impulse behind getting involved in these races is because Democrats lost an ultimately consequential race in North Carolina in 2020, a race the committee says it spent $1 million on. Now Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a controversial and bombastic Republican in the state, is a likely candidate as Republicans look to flip the governorship next year.

LG was a race that many people didnt pay attention to in 2020, and now it is biting us in the ass, Holst said.

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Democrats have a diverse bench waiting in the wings. They just need to pitch it to donors. - POLITICO

WASHINGTON In the nation's capital, the debate over banning TikTok has largely focused on whether the app's Chinese parent company poses a security threat to Americans.

But behind closed doors, Democrats are also being forced to weigh whether blocking the popular video platform could come with heavy political costs.

In 2020, Aidan Kohn-Murphy used TikTok to rally support for Joe Biden. Now, he's trying to use the platform to stop Biden from killing it.

Im not defending TikTok as a company, Im defending my entire generation, said the 19-year-old Harvard freshman who, as a high-schooler during the 2020 campaign founded a group called TikTok for Biden. It has since changed its name to Gen Z for Change and formally incorporated as a political nonprofit and, according to Kohn-Murphy, it now includes 500 creators with a combined 500 million followers on multiple platforms.

If they went ahead with banning TikTok, it would feel like a slap in the face to a lot of young Americans, he said.Democrats dont understand the political consequences this would have.

As the Biden administration considers banning the Chinese-owned short-form video platform with some 150 million U.S. users, young progressive activists and the older Democratic strategists trying to reach them are worried that the officials making the decision very few of whom likely regularly use TikTok have no idea how central the platform is to the lives of many in a generation that is just coming of age politically.

Gen Z the teens and 20-somethings born after 1996 skew overwhelmingly liberal and Democratic. Their stronger-than-expected turnout in the 2022 midterms was partially credited with salvaging what otherwise might have been a disastrous election for the Democratic Party.

They're still a small portion of the electorate just 9% in 2022, according to NBC News exit polls but their ranks are growing every year as more turn 18. And not all members of the generation use the app, but 1-in-5 say they get political information from TikTok, the same portion who cited teachers and classmates as information sources, according to a recent survey.

Some worry that if Washington bans Gen Zs favorite app for reasons that most are likely unfamiliar with accusations that the app is collecting user's location data and sharing it with the Chinese government it might leave a lasting political mark on an entire generation, depressing turnout, increasing apathy and shaping their view of the role of the federal government.

Banning TikTok? I mean, are you trying to engage young voters or not? What are we doing here? Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., a former middle school principal and member of the progressive squad said in an interview. They will absolutely stay at home. Theres no question about that.

I think weve sort of reached two conclusions here. The first is that the politics of this are very rough. And the second is that all of that has to be set aside because of nonhyperbolic national security concerns, said another Democratic member of Congress who has used the platform but supports a potential ban and who requested anonymity to speak candidly. I dont know that theres a balance to be struck. I think there might just be a political price to be paid.

Even Bidens commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, acknowledged the danger in a candid interview with Bloomberg Businessweek. The politician in me thinks youre gonna literally lose every voter under 35, forever, she said, before going to explain why a ban may still be necessary.

The politician in me thinks youre gonna literally lose every voter under 35, forever.

Democrat campaign operatives have increasingly seen the value of using the platform to reach young people including those working for Biden, who have on multiple occasions invited young TikTokers to the White House to help push their message on Covid vaccines, the War in Ukraine and their climate goals.

It can be hard for older Americans even older millennials who came of age with Facebook, but before Twitter to appreciate the centrality of TikTok in the lives and identity of Gen Z.

About 62% of TikTok U.S. users are under 30 and market research shows many young people turn to TikTok to look up information even before a Google search. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed that while 49% of all Americans support banning TikTok, 63% of 18-to-34 year-olds oppose the ban.

John Della Volpe, a pollster who specializes in young voters and authored Fight: How Gen Z is Channeling Their Fear, compares the platforms significance to Seinfeld for Gen X. And he said the data privacy concerns driving the potential TikTok ban are not as salient to young people.

They kind of feel like the cats already out of the bag on their data, he said. Disrupting or censoring one of Gen Zs main entertainment outlets without clearly communicating the personal and national security risks would meet a certain backlash.

Kurt Bardella, a Republican-turned-Democratic strategist who also works with entertainers, just returned from a country music industry convention in Nashville where he was surprised to find that even stars who broke through on TikTok were unaware of its potentially imminent demise.

I asked one of the artists who has done very well on TikTok if he had a plan B and the artist had no idea what I was talking about. And that was very illuminating to me that people whose livelihood depend on this had no idea, he said. I imagine theres a lot of young people, frankly, who have no idea that the cord could be unplugged any day or any week now. I think it will come as a massive shock.

It could very well be their first foray into politics for many of them and their first experience with how politics directly impacts their life, he added.

On the other side of the issue, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he worries about Chinas ability to use TikTok for content manipulation or propaganda, particularly with young people, noting that Chinese children are exposed to entirely different types of content on the app than Americans.

When asked about Raimondos remarks, Warner acknowledged that there is a political reality but added that if TikTok goes away, he thinks the market will create an alternative one that isnt ultimately controlled by an authoritarian regime.

Ioana Literat, a professor at Columbia Universitys Teachers College, has been studying young people on TikTok since before it was TikTok, when the app was called Music.ly, and even one of the biggest political hashtags during the 2016 election had only 1,600 videos.

Since then, the app has exploded in popularity and become undeniably the go-to place for young people today and the meeting place for an unusually cohesive generational community.

Its become inextricably linked to Gen Z culture. Its almost synonymous with Gen Z culture, said Literat. Theres such a strong sense of generational identity on TikTok and theyre self-consciously painting their generational self-portrait in real time. There are tons of videos that in effect say, GenZ is like this, Gen Z is not like that.

The generational identity forged on TikTok values political activism and expression, Literat said, calling the platform such an important political sandbox for young people in addition to being an effective way to organize them.

Literat is unsure that GenZ TikTok users will migrate en masse to another platform, given their enmeshment in the platform and its vaunted algorithm that, unlike Facebook or Instagrams, spotlights content from unknown creators that can turn students into stars overnight.

Young people see politics personally, she said. Taking away from them this platform that is so important in their personal lives will further tap into their personal view of politics and I dont think they will take it lightly.

Victoria Hammett, a 24-year-old progressive TikToker and abortion rights activist, said political creators want new rules applied to all social media platforms, not just TikTok. By banning TikTok, we would just be allowing Meta to further monopolize this space, she said of Facebook and Instagrams parent company.

Still, Democratic strategist Andrew Feldman said banning the app may well be worth the political cost especially since polls show Gen Z voters overwhelmingly agree with Democrats on nearly every issue.

The question here is what price are we willing to pay to put up with TikTok? he said. Yes, absolutely this is a political challenge, because this is Gen Zs favorite social media platform. But at the same time, theres a real cost here [to letting the app continue as is] and Democrats need to have a moral compass.

Even if Biden does this, we still have the high ground with young voters, we can still maintain the voting bloc, Feldman said. I see us winning every other issue. Thats not going to change just because we ban TikTok.

Alex Seitz-Wald is a senior politics reporter for NBC News.

Sahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.

Carol E. Lee contributed.

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TikTok ban would be 'a slap in the face' to young Democratic voters, activists warn - NBC News

But Sinema may be making the Democrats deliberations easier.

As she races to stockpile campaign money and post an impressive, statement-making first-quarter fundraising number, Sinema has used a series of Republican-dominated receptions and retreats this year to belittle her Democratic colleagues, shower her GOP allies with praise and, in one case, quite literally give the middle finger to President Joe Bidens White House.

And thats before an audience.

Speaking in private, whether one-on-one or with small groups of Republican senators, shes even more cutting, particularly about Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, whom she derides in harshly critical terms, according to senior Republican officials directly familiar with her comments.

Sinemas sniping spree has delighted the Republican lawmakers, lobbyists and donors whove taken in the show, giving some of them hope that she can be convinced to caucus with the GOP, either in this Congress or in the case shes reelected as an independent.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who Sinema has assiduously courted, remains skeptical, however. Believing she remains a Democrat at heart, McConnell has focused on trying to recruit a non-controversial Arizona Republican into the race, somebody who could attract the moderate GOP voters and independents Sinema would need to win the purple state as an independent.

Its entirely possible, however, that such a Republican doesnt run or cant clear a primary in Arizonas MAGA-fied state party. Former Gov. Doug Ducey has made clear hes not interested, first-term Rep. Juan Ciscomani is likely to accrue more House seniority, and the most attainable option, Karrin Taylor Robson, just lost the gubernatorial primary to Kari Lake. With near-total name identification among Arizona Republicans and the affection of one Donald J. Trump, Lake would enter the Senate race as the odds-on favorite to be the GOP nominee.

Which all raises the question for McConnell: Should his efforts to woo a mainstream Republican fail, would he be better off attempting to cut a deal with Sinema or hope a candidate like Lake can prevail in a three-way race against a current and former Democrat? One potential arrangement: Sinema could remain an independent but caucus with the Republicans in exchange for a ceasefire in spending from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and McConnells Super PAC.

Otherwise, McConnell could find himself ushering the election-denying Lake into the Senate, a step he may be less inclined to take as he considers his legacy and, more proximately, the group of mostly newcomers whove already tried to overthrow him once from his post. Remarkable as it may sound, on the vote that counts the most for the longest-serving Senate leader, the one to extend his record further, the independent may be more likely to support McConnell than the Republican.

At least one prominent Senate Republican is hoping McConnell attempts a negotiated peace with Sinema.

If he hasnt he should, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who has worked closely with Sinema, told me. Romney jokingly said that McConnell should even offer her the gavel of the influential Senate Finance Committee to sweeten the deal.

Just as notable, Romney said he hopes Sinema is reelected regardless and was open to stumping for her in Arizona, which has a significant population of Mormon voters.

Im not saying no, I could very easily endorse Sen. Sinema, he said, calling her one of the senators that is able to pull people together and actually get legislation passed.

At the risk of spoiling the fun for political junkies and students of third-party campaign history, this all could be moot.

Some of Sinemas friends believe shell retire rather than risk losing. To borrow the old line about the Clintons, after her taste of high finance on the fundraising circuit, shes become like the Episcopal priest in the humble rectory who was surrounded by money in his pews and wanted a cut. (Her appetites for luxury hotels, car services and charter flights, as laid out in her campaign finance reports, are ample.)

Sinemas office didnt respond to emailed messages.

Whats clear after the last few months, though, is that it could prove even more awkward than it already is for her to remain even nominally part of the Democratic Party.

Those lunches were ridiculous, she told a small group of Republican lobbyists at a reception in Washington this year in explaining why she had stopped attending her caucus weekly luncheons in the Capitol, according to an attendee.

First off, she explained, she was no longer a Democrat. Im not caucusing with the Democrats, Im formally aligned with the Democrats for committee purposes, Sinema said. But apart from that I am not a part of the caucus.

Then she let loose.

Old dudes are eating Jell-O, everyone is talking about how great they are, Sinema recounted to gales of laughter. I dont really need to be there for that. Thats an hour and a half twice a week that I can get back.

Now she was rolling.

The Northerners and the Westerners put cool whip on their Jell-O, she shared, and the Southerners put cottage cheese.

Cue the groans.

Turning more serious, but continuing to dismiss her colleagues, Sinema boasted that she had better uses of her time than those dumb lunches, which the windiest lawmakers can drag out but are also used to discuss substance and strategy.

I spend my days doing productive work, which is why Ive been able to lead every bipartisan vote thats happened the last two years, she said.

It was the sort of comment that reminded me of what one of her Democratic colleagues, a confirmed moderate, told me in private earlier this year about Sinema: Shes the biggest egomaniac in the Senate.

In fairness to Sinema, as Dizzy Dean purportedly said, it aint bragging if you really done it. And she was at the forefront of a series of bipartisan achievements in the last Congress, including on infrastructure and gun control. Along with needing her 51st vote this year, thats why the White House was just as restrained about Sinema leaving the party as Senate Democrats.

Yet in private, she hardly returns the favor.

In the fall of 2021 as my colleague Alex Burns and I reported in our book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for Americas Future she used a Republican-heavy fundraising reception to criticize the president for what she suggested was hypocrisy. Noting that Biden had at times opposed lifting the debt ceiling while in the Senate, Sinema said that makes it harder for folks to be somewhat righteous on the matter.

This year, at the same fundraiser where she complained about Jell-O, she was even more pointed.

After thrilling the Republican lobbyists by saying that the countrys declining faith in courts is the Senates fault for eliminating the judicial filibuster (read: Harry Reid, not Mitch McConnell, started this), Sinema recounted how she was able to get a federal judge from Arizona easily confirmed in the divided Senate.

A White House aide telephoned Sinema last summer, she said, and told her shed have to make sure all 50 Senate Democrats at the time were present for the vote to confirm Roopali Desai to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sinema said she told the aide there was no need to fret because the vote would be bipartisan.

Then she revealed who the aide was, saying that was Klain, as she quickly flashed her middle finger in the air to demonstrate what she thinks of the powerful and now-departed White House chief of staff.

After the laughter died down, Sinema boasted that Judge Desai picked up 67 votes in a swift confirmation and then got in one final dig at the White House. I did not call Ron back, she said.

At another Republican-filled fundraiser in Washington this year, Sinema chided Schumer.

Taking questions around the room, as she prefers to do rather than give remarks, the Arizonan encountered a lobbyist who said he was hoping to work with the Senate Democratic leader on finding a compromise over energy permitting. Sinema looked at the lobbyist and shot back: Oh, good luck, according to an attendee.

Its not just liberals who shell take aim at, though. At fundraisers, Sinema has mocked the name Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) bestowed on the climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, likening it to the moniker of the initially unpopular health law now known as Obamacare: the Affordable Care Act.

And when a Republican donor told the Arizona senator that it was not Manchin but Sinema who carried the water for us in this last Congress, she responded: Youre hired.

When the donor said, Without you our taxes wouldve gone through the roof, she concurred: They would have.

On Manchin, Sinema complained that people often assume that were the same person but then twice noted to the corporate crowd that she has better tax policy ideas than the West Virginian, who remains a traditional Democrat when it comes to taxing the wealthy.

Its hard to overstate Sinemas closeness with private equity, in particular. She spent part of her 2020 summer recess interning at a Sonoma winery owned by an executive in the industry; she single-handedly ensured taxing carried interest on private equity earnings was kept out of the IRA legislation, as Schumer memorably blurted out. And one senior administration official told me theyve concluded the way to win Sinemas vote on a crucial agency nominee is to have private equity executives weigh in with her.

After raising large sums from the finance industry in New York and a range of corporate lobbyists in Washington this year, Sinemas Republican donor tour took her to the resort community of Sea Island, Georgia, earlier this month for the American Enterprise Institutes annual forum there.

Seated with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sinema used her time on stage at the conservative think tanks conference to hail her relationships with Collins and two other Republicans, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and, especially, former Ohio Sen. Rob Portman.

She sidestepped questions about her political future to the dismay of some would-be No Labels donors in the audience looking for a 2024 horse and offered an above-it-all presentation in which she disparaged Washingtons ways and said she didnt like characterizing ones rivals.

Multiple attendees told me that her comments were met with a warm response in the room from the major donors, a demographic that skews old, rich, white and male, doesnt much like Trump and sure wishes more Democrats talked like Sinema.

Among those in the room who actually work in politics, and werent just hearing from Sinema for the first time, the reception was far more restrained. Which is to say if they had let their eyes roll collectively it may have caused tidal activity in the Atlantic.

This, along with the basic mathematical challenge of winning as an independent in polarized times, may be Sinemas ultimate challenge: the risk that the voters will eventually catch up to her schtick.

As in: The senator lamenting Washington name-calling and cynicism before an audience of AEI contributors told another, smaller crowd earlier in the year that House liberals were crazy people, that most of my colleagues just arent familiar with tax policy and wondered why other senators didnt leverage the 50-50 Senate to be a pain in the ass like her.

She may be a pain in the ass, but her obstinance is going to ensure she has plenty of money in the bank.

Sinema is going back to Sonoma in May for a $5,000 per-person Weekend of Wine and Food, according to an invitation. August will bring a Maui event for her leadership PAC. And then in the fall, shell head up to mountains around Sedona, Arizona.

Whats less clear is if by then shell still be using her current fundraising consultants, Fulkerson, Kennedy and Company. The Democratic firm also represents another, more prominent senator: Charles Ellis Schumer.

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Sinema Trashes Dems: 'Old Dudes Eating Jell-O' - POLITICO

Union activists scored a major victory Tuesday when Michigan Democrats voted again to repeal "right-to-work" in Michigan and reinstate the state's prevailing wage law, sending the legislation to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.

Right-to-work allows those in unionized jobs to opt out of paying union dues and fees. Republicans in the state put the law on the books in 2012 amid massive protests by labor advocates who argue it weakens unions and erodes their bargaining power.

Republicans repealed Michigan's prevailing wage law in 2018. Democrats want to reinstate it to require union-level wages and benefits for workers on state-funded construction projects.

The state House previously voted on its own set of bills earlier this month while the Senate Democrats took up their bills last week. Votes Tuesday in both chambers to tweak the final versions of the bills brought them across the finish line. All bills passed on party-line votes.

The following bills are poised to head to Whitmer's desk:

Whitmer is expected to sign the legislation.

More:Michigan Senate Democrats pass bills repealing right-to-work law

More:Michigan House passes bills to repeal right-to-work

Democrats attached appropriations to the bills for the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to respond to public questions about the legislation and implement the changes. The spending included in the legislation means voters won't have an opportunity to subject any of the bills signed into law to a referendum.

The move mirrors what Republicans did in 2012 when they passed right-to-work.

At the outset of her first term, Whitmer promised to veto legislation that circumvents the referendum process. But it does not appear she will issue a line-item veto to remove the spending from the bills before signing them.

"The governor intends to sign legislation restoring workers' rights as passed by the Legislature," said a spokesperson for Whitmer.

Free Press staff writer Arpan Lobo contributed to this article.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA.Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

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Michigan Democrats vote once more to repeal right-to-work - Detroit Free Press