- Tech giant Apple and the FBI appeared headed for a deepening confrontation Wednesday after the company's chief pledged to fight federal demands to help mine data from an iPhone used by one of the shooters in December's terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, The Washington Post reports. "The clash reflects wider debates in the United States and elsewhere over security measures used by companies to protect users of devices such as smartphones - and how much leverage authorities should have to gain special access," writes Ellen Nakashima.

 

Meanwhile, The head of the FBI and CEO of Apple were invited to testify before a House committee late last week, following days of heated rhetoric. The Hill reports that FBI Director James Comey and Apple chief Tim Cook should appear in Congress to discuss the "critical juncture" in the debate over encryption technology, following a court order that Apple help the FBI hack into one of its protected iPhones.

 

Comey released a statement Sunday calling for a national dialogue on the matter. "Although this case is about the innocents attacked in San Bernardino, it does highlight that we have awesome new technology that creates a serious tension between two values we all treasure-privacy and safety," Comey said. "That tension should not be resolved by corporations that sell stuff for a living. It also should not be resolved by the FBI, which investigates for a living."

 

-The United States developed an elaborate plan for a cyberattack on Iran in case the diplomatic effort to limit its nuclear program failed and led to a military conflict, The New York Times reports. The report, based on a coming documentary film and interviews with military and intelligence officials involved in the effort, notes that the plan was devised to disable Iran's air defenses, communications systems and crucial parts of its power grid, and was shelved, at least for the foreseeable future, after the nuclear deal struck between Iran and six other nations last summer was fulfilled.

 

-A California hospital which paid $17,000 in ransom to hackers to regain control of its computer system has told the world of its plight. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center relented to the demands, President Allen Stefanek said, because he believed it was the "quickest and most efficient way" to free the Los Angeles hospital's network, which was paralyzed for about 10 days. Read more at TechEye.

 

-The Internal Revenue Service said there's been a "400 percent surge" in phishing and malware attacks designed to defraud taxpayers this tax season, NextGov reports. "The numbers are ugly for taxpayers. As of mid-February, the IRS has already experienced 1,389 incidents, more than half way to eclipsing last year's total of 2,748 incidents," writes Frank Konkel. "The 1,026 incidents reported this January are four times the number of incidents reported in January 2015."

-Former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano will lead a special presidential cybersecurity commission, according to Federal Computer week. "The White House announced Feb. 17 that Donilon is being appointed chairman and Palmisano vice chairman of the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, which President Barack Obama established via executive order earlier this month," writes Zach Noble. Read more here.