In The News

February 14, 2017
Sloppy procedures from the US commander in chief’s security team combined with ongoing Russian interference are triggering anxiety. Michael Flynn, the US national security adviser, resigned after serving for less than one month over allegations he discussed US sanctions with the Russia ambassador before Donald Trump took office – and then misled his supervisors despite surveillance transcripts of...
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...
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...
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...
Pete Hunt June 8, 2016
Authoritarians may eye China’s system of internet censorship, known as the Great Firewall, with envy, but other governments may struggle to apply the Chinese model, suggests internet policy analyst Pete Hunt. “China’s real lesson to the world, in turns out, is that maintaining cyber sovereignty is an expensive endeavor with sizable opportunity costs,” he writes for the Diplomat. “The government’s...
Andy Greenberg April 21, 2016
The nonprofit Internet Security Research Group hopes to encrypt all internet websites with a program called Let’s Encrypt. The goal, according to the group’s founder, is 100 percent encryption for the internet, moving from http to https, reports Andy Greenberg for Wired. The program reduces surveillance, yet may also shield malicious sites. The short code is automated, easy to use and free, and...
April 4, 2016
Investing funds in offshore accounts is not necessarily illegal, but avoiding taxes is a violation of local and national laws. “Eleven million documents were leaked from the secretive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca,” reports BBC News. “They show how the company has helped some clients launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax.” The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists...