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Defense Bill Could Silence Critical U.S.-China Cyber Dialogue

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:15:00 EDT

A disturbing proposal in the U.S. House of Representatives could effectively freeze any productive discussion on cybersecurity issues between the U.S. and Chinese governments.
The proposal – by Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida – is being considered as part of the House’s fiscal year 2014 defense authorization legislation. It would block federal funds from being used for critical cybersecurity dialogues between the U.S. and China. The amendment would place a counterproductive barrier of silence between two of the world’s superpowers and eliminate structured efforts to address mutual cyber issues of concern. Sustained and high-level dialogue between the U.S. and China in relation to strategic and national security issues is essential to eliminating misunderstanding and building trust.

Carried to an extreme, the amendment could be interpreted as blocking the success coming out of the recent summit between President Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping held in California earlier this month. The two leaders discussed cybersecurity, and the two countries are pressing forward with cyber talks starting next month with the goal of beginning to understand each other’s intentions and set rules of the road in cyberspace. Yet, the DeSantis proposal could prevent the presidents’ discussions or the subsequent diplomatic efforts, as no Defense funds “may be used for collaborative cybersecurity activities with the People’s Republic of China or any entity owned or controlled by China…” This proposal would preclude U.S. national security expertise from participating in these upcoming discussions, experts who are essential to any discussion on cybersecurity with foreign countries.

We understand policymakers’ concerns, but it is troubling strategy to freeze discussions between the governments on such an important issue. Barriers to advance areas of mutual interest serve the interests of those who seek to engage in cyber crimes and other disruptive efforts that could pose serious threats to our critical infrastructures. Our collective good would be better served by both countries working in tandem to address shared cybersecurity concerns. As we discussed in a previous blog post, the United States and China have mutual interests in cyberspace that are surprisingly significant.

We appreciate the bipartisan efforts that have gone into development of the defense authorization bill and the complexities of the issues that House members are working to address. To be sure, cybersecurity is a major priority, and ensuring that U.S. national security interests are fully represented at all levels of U.S.–China cybersecurity discussions and engagement will advance global security and stability. But addressing the issues shouldn’t be done through isolationist policies. In our interconnected, globally integrated world, solutions lie in competitive collaboration and mutual understanding.

Editor's note: ITI's Global Policy Director Jimmy Goodrich contributed to this blog.

Hire America First

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:00:00 EDT

At the same time that the United States Senate was beginning its debate on S. 744, the comprehensive immigration reform bill, human resource (HR) executives from some of our nation’s most innovative technology companies – Adobe, Broadcom, CA Technologies, Dell, EMC, Intel, Motorola Solutions, Teradata, and Texas Instruments – came to Washington to meet with policymakers and make tech’s case for immigration reform. Their message was simple: Passing immigration reform would enable these and many other forward-thinking enterprises to fill tens of thousands of U.S. jobs, and create hundreds of thousands more jobs for Americans.

The HR executives covered quite a bit of ground on Capitol Hill in a short amount of time. In just a little over a day, they met with members and staff representing 20 congressional offices, House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats. Each HR executive brought their own unique perspective to the challenges of finding skilled talent to work in the U.S., but they joined together to relay several critical themes:

It’s “Skilled Help Wanted” across America. Every company represented said they are actively hiring, and are engaged in ambitious recruitment operations in colleges and universities across the country. Together, the eight companies literally have thousands of unfilled jobs. This is not surprising. The website dice.com currently lists nearly 85,000 publicly posted tech job openings in the U.S. These jobs, however, won’t go unfilled forever. American-based tech companies operate in a global marketplace. If they can’t find the highly-educated talent they need to stay ahead of their competition, companies will have to look outside America to fill their vacancies.
Finding qualified people in the U.S. to fill these open jobs has been and continues to be a serious challenge. One HR executive told policymakers that even “during the depth of the great recession, we struggled to fill jobs.” The competition for talent has become so fierce that the HR executives acknowledged that they were recruiting skilled talent away from their competitors.
Filling high-skilled jobs creates new jobs for Americans. The HR executives pointed out that when highly skilled positions are filled, it generates related jobs within their company – jobs filled overwhelmingly by Americans. This company hiring generates economic activity that, in turn, sparks new jobs within the surrounding community. This tracks with a December 2012 Bay Area Council Economic Policy Institute report, which estimated that the creation of one job in the high-tech sector creates more than four additional jobs in the local community.
Immigration reform will turn a brain drain into a brain gain for the US economy. Our current immigration system has not kept pace with the rapidly growing skilled economy, with the result being that many talented foreign-born professionals have been stuck in professional limbo for more than ten years waiting for permanent resident visas (“green cards”). The HR executives warned policymakers that more and more professionals stuck in the green-card backlog are giving up on America and going home or to other countries. The Senate immigration bill would reform the green-card system, eliminate the backlog, and advance the U.S. as a central hub for innovation.
Immigration reform will strengthen U.S. business operations, particularly in research and development. The HR executives represent companies that sell more of their goods and services overseas, but still perform the bulk of their innovative research in the U.S. The Senate immigration bill would enable these companies to utilize temporary skilled visas like the H-1B to recruit emerging talent from American colleges and universities to complement their domestic workforce and strengthen their U.S. operations.
Tech is committed to investing in talent development in the U.S. Every one of the tech companies represented in our meetings have active programs that invest in advancing science, technology, education and math (STEM) programs in communities across the country. The HR executives expressed strong support for provisions in the Senate bill that would invest in STEM education programs through increases in visa fees.

The HR executives this week provided a good dose of the current and emerging realities for the technology sector. The intense competition for talent is global, and it’s not just a competition among companies, but also among countries. These and many other high-tech companies will invest in skilled talent wherever they can find it. And the HR executives made it clear that today’s broken immigration system makes it extremely difficult to recruit and retain foreign-born graduates from our own colleges and universities to work and innovate in America.

Immigration reform can realign current immigration policy with today’s economic reality, and revitalize America’s innovation leadership. With immigration reform, U.S.-based global companies can continue to hire America first.

Polls Show Strong Support for Immigration Reform

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:53:00 EDT

New public opinion data show Americans are ready for the Senate to approve its bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform legislation. A survey of people in 29 states found that nearly seven in ten Americans support comprehensive immigration reform and that almost nine in ten people don’t want this to drag on. They want action this year.

What this means, from a purely political perspective, is that comprehensive immigration reform gives lawmakers an opportunity to show they can find common ground on a critical national priority. The polling summary bears that out.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen a country increasingly polarized across party lines when it comes to almost all attempts to move legislation. Yet, the compromise that’s been crafted on immigration reform is a rare exception to that rule. The bill that’s been constructed has broad support with every segment of the electorate in every part of the country. The bipartisan immigration reform package represents a rare opportunity to cast an affirmative vote for major legislation that enjoys overwhelming support from voters of all stripes.

The polls were sponsored by the Alliance for Citizenship, Partnership for a New American Economy, and Republicans for Immigration Reform, three organizations that represent broad support for immigration reform from across the political spectrum.

One of the reasons we believe that the Senate’s comprehensive reform proposal is gaining in public support is that people understand the link between immigration reform and job creation. The data bear this out. Economists have repeatedly noted the correlation between immigration and new jobs. Each skilled visa creates approximately five new jobs across the country. And every additional 100 foreign science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates of a U.S. university with an advanced degree is linked to another 262 jobs for U.S. natives. Skilled immigrants create new businesses and new jobs and are valuable additions to our communities.

We want these jobs here in America, and not going to our foreign competitors. America needs an immigration system that ensures our future is one of renewed prosperity. The Congress must seize this opportunity and approve legislation that will serve to further invigorate our nation’s innovative and entrepreneurial leadership.

The new polling shows that the American people are ready to embrace these solutions. The Senate has the opportunity to put these solutions to work for America’s future.

We Are a Solutions Sector

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:23:00 EDT

In his blog on Thursday, ITI’s Dean Garfield quoted comments made by Google’s Eric Schmidt at the “How Green Is the Internet?” summit that we attended that day. Now, you can view Eric’s full comments as well as all the plenary remarks from the event. They are here, along with a two-minute overview video that gives testimony to the energy and intelligence that permeated the event.

We also produced two quick videos of our own while at Google, though my interviewing skills aren’t going to give the TV anchors any fear for their jobs! We asked Joyce Dickerson of Google about the event and their objectives in hosting it, and then asked Stanford’s Jon Koomey and Microsoft’s Mark Aggar to provide their thoughts on our sector’s contributions to future sustainability efforts. Check them out.

Readers may have noticed today’s release of the new International Energy Agency (IEA) world energy outlook special report, “Redrawing the Climate Map.” I admit I have not read yet all 100+ pages, but I am a bit underwhelmed by the four policy recommendations featured in the executive summary. The IEA presents its “4-for-2” scenario, proposing the “implementation of four policy measures that can help keep the door open to the two degrees Celsius target through to 2020 at no net economic cost.” These four policies are:

Adopting specific energy efficiency measures (49% of the emissions savings);
Limiting the construction and use of the least-efficient coal-powered power plants (21%);
Minimizing methane (CH4) emissions from upstream oil and gas production (18%); and,
Accelerating the (partial) phase-out of subsidies to fossil-fuel consumption (12%).

My let down is with the first bullet. Energy efficiency is vital, and deserves to be listed first. However, the specific measures that the IEA recommends highlight the imposition of government component efficiency standards. Such old-think! We have entered a new world of networked systems, with the internet of things providing vast new potential for energy efficiencies. Yet, the IEA seems still captured by the old world of stand-alone components.

The messages from the Google summit were so much different. Internet-enabled solutions promise much more efficiency, and governments should focus on how to help better unleash this potential. To paraphrase Ericsson’s Elaine Weidman-Grunewald’s remarks at the end of Google’s overview video, we are a solutions sector, and we’re very optimistic about that.

TI CEO Reiterates Call for Healthy Innovation Ecosystem

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:52:00 EDT

On June 4, Texas Instruments chairman, president, & CEO Rich Templeton gave the keynote address at a National Academy of Sciences’ (NAS) event hosted by the University of Texas System at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The event coincided with the release of a recent NAS study entitled, “Research Universities and the Future of America.” The study identified ten steps to both enhance our human capital, and strengthen partnerships between state governments, the federal government and universities, which collectively will ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of innovation. In his remarks, Mr. Templeton echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the need for continued federal funding for research and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

Running one of the nation’s most innovative companies, Mr. Templeton knows firsthand how critical sustained federal investments in STEM education and research and development are. He’s long argued that in order to jump start our economy, the federal government and industry need to work in concert, ensuring an ecosystem exists where research and innovation can flourish. No doubt the thought of additional spending makes Congress skittish in in these tight budgetary times, but policy makers need to keep in mind that investing in research and STEM education lead to tangible returns in the form of job creation.

We applaud Mr. Templeton’s efforts and look forward to working alongside Texas Instruments to help grow our economy. You can read more about Mr. Templeton’s remarks here.

Finding Solutions to Sustainability

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 21:00:00 EDT

Technology is a transformative force for good, and must be harnessed toward the challenge of environmental sustainability. That is the reality of the moment as well as the opportunity for the future that we focused on today at “How Green Is the Internet,” held at Google’s Mountain View campus.

There are two things that jump out at me coming away from the session. One is the unique power and ability of the information and communications technology sector to drive transformative change in sustainability, both because of what we’re doing by ourselves as well as what we can do with our partners.

The second is the need for data. There is a lot of work that’s being done that would be better informed if we had more data around sustainability, measurement, and standards. ITI is in a good position to help on both fronts, building greater partnerships between the companies that are part of ITI and to share data.

Google’s Eric Schmidt put it plainly this afternoon. When talking about the relationship between energy consumption and long-term sustainability, he said, “The math doesn’t work.”

The Internet can create awareness and opportunity, and to innovate in this space is the only solution that I can see to reverse the math that we’re going to see in the next couple of decades.

The solution is the use of the Internet to create an awareness and empower individuals, and then use that power to come up with creative solutions. The optimization is to do stuff in such a way that does not make climatic things worse but does impact people’s lives.

Importantly, today’s sessions didn’t just rely on a singular point of view. Yes, the tech sector was broadly represented (from hardware makers to software designers to end users). But we also benefited from the viewpoints of environmental advocates and consumers. We heard from major manufacturers and small businesses. And, impressively, we all reached the same conclusion, namely, we need to work together to not only brainstorm on policy- and market-based solutions, but also on driving them to reality. Putting ideas on a white board is good, but we have to turn ideas into sustainable solutions for a greener Earth.

Moving Education Forward: ITI Highlights High-Tech’s Investments in American Students

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:19:00 EDT

This week, ITI, will unveil the latest iteration of its STEM book, Moving Education Forward: Strengthening STEM in Today’s Classrooms, spotlighting many of our member companies that are making serious investments to help build the skills America’s students and workers need to succeed in the 21^st century workplace.

The ITI publication promises to be an excellent resource detailing the high-tech industry’s commitment to enhancing our domestic STEM pipeline. The tech industry has made investments in all four corners of the country, reaching nearly every demographic. Because of the industry’s support, teachers are better able to stay current with best teaching practices; students are afforded hands-on, inquiry-based learning; workers are being retrained in today’s latest technologies; and the playing field is leveling for women and other underserved communities who aren’t often exposed to a high quality STEM education in the classroom.

Many in the industry, including ITI, have long argued that improving our outdated education system would pay enormous dividends in making our economy more innovative and competitive over the long-term. The gulf between what’s currently taught in our classrooms and what the marketplace demands is wide and only continues to grow. Also increasing in the U.S. is the gap between the demand for STEM talent and the STEM talent supply. The undeniable truth is that too many graduates and displaced workers are attempting to enter or reenter the workplace without the STEM foundation a 21^st century, knowledge-based economy requires.

In 2013, a STEM education, whether it’s acquired in school or a workforce training program, is the best predictor of employability. STEM skills are versatile and functional not only in traditional STEM fields like engineering and computer programming, but increasingly in traditional blue collar jobs like manufacturing, mining, and logistics, as well.

The investments the high-tech industry has made in our nation’s students and workforce should be applauded. The forward-thinking exhibited by these companies is timely and will undoubtedly benefit the entire country through increased innovation, job creation, and economic growth.

New Members, New Excitement at ITI

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 06:35:00 EDT

For nearly a century, ITI has brought smart, effective policy advocacy to bear to advance technological improvements that have revolutionized the global economy. From the office machines of the early 20^th century to today’s mobile technologies, our members remain at the cutting edge of innovation and advancement. We are enormously proud to represent the world’s most dynamic companies which, each day, make major advancements in how we all work, learn, and play.

As our companies revolutionize our world, ITI continues to grow and evolve with our members. Originally an organization focused squarely on U.S. companies and Washington policies (the world was a much smaller place in 1916!), we are vastly more diverse in our membership and our focus. And our newest members – HTC and Epson – exemplify our continual evolution. HTC is our first Taiwanese based company and will bring their “Quietly Brilliant” voice to ITI’s work. Additionally, Epson, a global leader in 3LCD projection technology and an innovator of high-quality color inkjet, thermal, and dot matrix technology printers also has chosen to join ITI. These companies bring our membership to 52, expand our global reach, and highlight the ever-changing tech sector policy landscape.

Our new members’ specialties serve as a microcosm of the diverse issues that ITI undertakes in the U.S. and in key capitals and markets around the globe – issues of mobility, market access, and privacy.

The tech sector drives progress. We anchor economic growth. We spark exploration. HTC and Epson are the latest companies to join ITI, and we look forward to working with them.

Recap: How Green Is the Internet?

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 05:14:00 EDT

How green is the Internet? That’s a great question. Not coincidentally, it’s also the name of a summit meeting today at Google headquarters. (You can watch live at www.youtube.com/googlegreen.)

Participants make up an intriguing mix of experts from industry, academia, government and NGOs. For our part, ITI is helping to explore emerging questions around the environmental impacts and benefits of the Internet, and the data centers that drive many of the services on which people around the world rely.

These questions are significant. As the digital revolution evolves into the mobility revolution, with smartphone and tablet owners expecting connectivity to their services from anywhere, at anytime, all this activity and data requires 24/7 infrastructure. This means thousands of data centers and networks of networks must be accessible and operating seamlessly.

Clearly, this has environmental consequences – on the whole, very positive ones. Moving greater numbers of bits instead of atoms should make future economic activity more sustainable, not less. There are many studies that confirm this view. However, most of these studies are dated (at least in IT time) and don’t reflect the cutting-edge technologies that are driving progress.

For instance, the last governmental study on data center energy use was published in 2007, using 2005-6 data. In the life of IT, a six-year-old study, using data that are seven or eight years old, is archaic. That’s one reason why ITI is supporting legislation, H.R. 540, introduced by Representatives Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Mike Rogers, R-Mich., which includes a mandate for a new U.S. Department of Energy-led update to this study.

At the summit, I’ll lead two breakouts on e-commerce. Our goal is to identify potential impacts and benefits of the Internet in the e-commerce arena, determine key questions, and identify paths forward. While I’ll be curious as to whether participants think we have up-to-date data to support our conversation, I’m more interested in hearing where the experts think the e-commerce sector is headed and what innovations are around the corner. What new transformations are coming, and how can industry and government work together to ensure that they will result in future sustainability as well as growth?

Follow the event online and share your own observations. A green Internet is going to be a central part of everyone’s future.

U.S. – China Summit Should Focus on Common Interests and Advancing Innovation

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 23:17:00 EDT

This week’s bilateral meetings between President Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping will bring into focus core economic and strategic issues the two nations facing and, in key areas, the discussions will have significant economic and strategic overtones. But while many of the stories previewing the discussions highlight topics where the countries disagree, the leaders should not let differences of opinion overshadow those areas where we have common interest and can advance a common good. This includes identifying areas of mutual U.S.-China interest in cyberspace and advancing digital trade.

The two governments have picked a smart approach to these discussions – at a California retreat, far outside of the formal pomp-and-ceremony of a state visit in Washington. This enhances the ability for the two leaders to have genuine conversations and build trust. With a loose agenda and no formal events driving their time together, President Obama and President Xi Jinping will have a rare opportunity for a dialogue that allows each of them a greater understanding of the motivations and challenges the other leader faces. While bold and unprecedented diplomatic breakthroughs are unlikely, there are a wide range of issues on which the U.S. and China can seek to achieve substantive progress.

Unsurprisingly, we’re seeing cybersecurity rise to the top of the “to do” list for the summit. In a call this afternoon to preview the talks, White House officials placed cyber in both an economic and strategic relationship priority list.

There is an expectation that all of us are working together to protect the infrastructure of the global economy against cyber intrusions and that countries need to meet their responsibilities.

There is a responsibility for governments to uphold the international rules of the road as it relates to the protection of digital infrastructure.

We need to have an open, candid, ongoing bilateral discussion on this issue so that our concerns are met. We have an international framework for dealing with cybersecurity that protects the lifeblood of our economy.

That last part is key: an “open, candid, ongoing bilateral discussion” on this issue. The recently announced U.S.-China cyber working group will be an important channel for consistent, frank exchanges between the countries.

As mentioned, there are a surprising number of areas where the U.S. and China share a common interest in securing cyberspace. For example, a significant amount of the world’s manufacturing relies on Chinese power generation and distribution networks, and an increasing number of Chinese firms rely on networks run by U.S. financial institutions and their investors for sustained economic growth. These are just two of many examples where we have mutual cyber security interests and concerns. Both sides should recognize that the security of our global digital infrastructure is a shared interest.

For our part, we will continue to urge both sides to work toward sharing best practices, better alignment towards consensus-driven, industry led global standards, and a strengthened focus on bad actors and threats that should be at the heart of any global cyber strategy. (See our full set of principles, adopted with JEITA and DIGITALEUROPE.)

Finally, both sides should discuss how the promotion of innovation and technology trade should be at the heart of any cyber security effort. We in the tech community will continue to stress that the best cyber defense is achieved through innovation.

And, while the cyber talks are important, we hope they don’t wash away attention from a number of other priorities areas, including advancement of market access and global trade.

One core area is the current effort to expand the range of tech products included in the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). China and the United States are two of the 76 nations involved in the negotiations underway in Geneva and we are within sight of a final agreement late this summer. But we won’t get there unless China and the U.S. both exert more political leadership to drive the talks to conclusion.

The benefits to both nations – and to the world – are significant. With experts concerned about potential slowdowns in China’s economy, and many other countries seeing sluggish growth as a result of the lingering effects of the worldwide recession, the ITA offers an immediate accelerant for job growth and expanded trade. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation has reported:

[A]n expanded ITA could remove tariffs on at least an additional $800 billion in ICT trade globally, a 20 percent increase over the $4 trillion now covered annually. Moreover, ITIF estimates that ITA expansion would increase U.S. exports of ICT products by $2.8 billion, boost revenues of U.S. ICT firms by $10 billion, and support creation of approximately 60,000 new U.S. jobs throughout the economy.

ITIF also projects that a successful ITA expansion would give the global economy a boost of $190 billion annually.

ITA expansion fits well within the White House’s goals for the summit to focus on “issues directly relevant to the lives of the American people.” There is no issue with greater importance to the nation right now than jobs. ITA expansion – with the estimated 60,000 jobs it would bring to the U.S. – is one way to jumpstart solid economic growth. This initiative will also directly help to improve cybersecurity as the best cyber defense is innovation, and ITA expansion will be a boost for tech innovation worldwide. We hope that the two presidents will work quickly and constructively to bring the expansion talks to a successful conclusion by the end next month.

We’ll keep readers up to speed on the talks and our analysis of the outcomes.