In The News

Don’t Bet on Enduring Republican Reset With Russia

Daniel Twining January 10, 2017
Donald Trump blasted critics who reject his plans to improve US ties with Russia on Twitter: “Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only ‘stupid’ people, or fools, would think that it is bad!” But Congress may not go along, including Republicans who worry about aggression in Georgia, Ukraine and Syria and criticized President Barack Obama for going too easy on...

Trump, CIA on Collision Course: Washington Post

David Nakamura and Greg Miller December 12, 2016
US President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters, intent on overturning some longstanding policies, have shown a penchant for not trusting scientific, government or intelligence experts. The CIA is responsible for providing national-security intelligence to the president and policymakers – and in a report suggests that Russian operatives intervened in the election by releasing hacked US...

Internet of Things: Have We Bitten Off More Than We Can Chew?

Alyssa Newcomb and Jo Ling Kent October 28, 2016
Hackers commandeered web cameras and possibly other devices to launch an attack on internet service management company Dyn. The company reports that it fended off multiple attacks in recent weeks. All types of gadgets for homes, cars and offices are linked to the internet to allow remote monitoring by users and updates from makers, and one security expert suggests that any device with an IP...

Reuters: Ecuador Cuts Assange's Internet Access - WikiLeaks

Mark Hosenball October 19, 2016
The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry confirmed claims by WikiLeaks that the nation forced Julian Assange offline to prevent interference in the US election. The country has granted political asylum to the WikiLeaks founder in its London embassy since 2012, and asserts it will continue to do so to protect free speech. The episode reflects complicated relationships among Ecuador, Russia and the United...

Why You Should Care About Yahoo Secretly Scanning Emails

Amelia Tait October 10, 2016
Many computer users shrugged upon hearing reports that Yahoo had developed software for the US government to scan users’ incoming emails. Yahoo’s security staff did not even know about the program. Anyone who relies on a computer should care about all data breaches, argues Amelia Tait for the New Statesman. Other tech companies could be secretly offering similar services. Former employees exposed...

You've Got Fail: High School Students Claim Hack on CIA Director's AOL Account

Sam Thielman October 20, 2015
Internet users can be swift and harsh with online judgments. US authorities are investigating claims that the CIA director’s email account was hacked with details on 20 employees released. One hacker claims to be a US high school student – “not Muslim” and “motivated by opposition to US foreign policy and support for Palestine.” Violence has spiked in Israel this month: Random, sudden knife and...

Xi-Obama Summit: Bridging the Trust Deficit in US-China Ties?

Robert A. Manning September 29, 2015
China and the United States disagree on many issues – including claims for the South China Sea, intellectual property protections, open access to the internet and free speech. Leaders of the world’s two largest economies also have reason to cooperate on global initiatives. Xi Jinping, China’s president and general secretary of the Communist Party, visited the United States, meeting US President...