Science & Tech

Got Something to Sell to the Pentagon? It's About to Get Easier

A new office just opened to help the Defense Department's high-tech agency buy more easily from first-time sellers.

Ideas

The US Accused Russia of Hacking. What Happens Next Will Set a Cyber War Precedent

After blaming Russia for trying to tamper with the presidential election, the White House will want to choose its next move carefully.

Ideas

Private Companies Shouldn’t Be The Ones Crying ‘State-Sponsored Hack!’

If the U.S. government doesn't start officially attributing cyberattacks, it risks losing control of the narrative and evolving legal norms.

Ideas

On the Cyber Frontier, Hacking Back is Ethical — and Even Desirable

Governments could treat retaliatory cyberattacks as ‘frontier' incidents, which are not necessarily escalatory.

Science & Tech

How the US Air Force is Rapidly Mobilizing For Cyber War

New ideas about defense and new tables of organization are reshaping the service’s ideas about battle.

Ideas

What to Do About Zero-Day Hacks? Try A Middle Road

A system of government incentives will keep us safer than trying to buy up all newly discovered vulnerabilities, or outlawing their sale.

Science & Tech

The Man in Charge of Stopping the Next Snowden

Moving past the summer of 2013 has proven difficult for the intelligence community.

Ideas

Just Wait Until Data Thieves Start Releasing Altered and Fake Emails

It's one thing for someone to air your dirty laundry. It's another thing entirely to throw in a few choice items that aren't real.

Science & Tech

The NSA Is Using Bomb-Defusing Software to Grow the Next Generation of Analysts

This year’s codebreaking contest has a twist: the college teams must remotely locate and neutralize a roadside bomb.

Policy

McCain to White House: If You Won’t Establish a Cyber Defense Policy, Congress Will

‘Ignoring the issue, as the White House has done, is not an option,’ said the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman on Tuesday.

Science & Tech

Will NSA and CyberCom Split?

This isn’t the first time officials have considered dividing the agencies’ leadership or even putting civilians in charge.

Science & Tech

The US Has Its First Cybersecurity Director

Gregory Touhill, a retired Air Force one-star, will be the first to hold the job, which was created in the wake of the OPM hack.

Science & Tech

How Will Terrorists Use the Internet of Things? The Justice Department Is Trying to Figure That Out

As the business of connected devices explodes, DOJ joins other agencies in evaluating the national-security risks.

Ideas

The Global Threat That Went Undiscussed at the G20 Summit

Our fight against cyber crime must grow beyond passive defense and unenforceable indictments — but it won't if leaders don't even talk about it.

Threats

The Same Culprits That Targeted US Election Boards Might Have Also Targeted Ukraine

More circumstantial evidence suggests Russian-backed actors targeted state election boards.

Threats

EXCLUSIVE: Russia-Backed DNC Hackers Strike Washington Think Tanks

The same Kremlin-backed group that hacked the Pentagon, State Department, and DNC targeted DC insiders last week.

Science & Tech

At Least One State Rejects Feds' Offer to Help Cybersecure Voting Machines

Some security experts say it wouldn't even take Russian government-backed hackers to manipulate actual votes in some of America's antiquated tallying systems.

Threats

Did the NSA Get Hacked?

A group calling itself the “Shadow Broker” is auctioning off what it says are the agency’s cyberweapons.

Science & Tech

Russian-Linked Group Leaks US Lawmakers’ Phone Numbers, Emails

Late Friday, an online figure linked to Russian intelligence groups released the personal information of several lawmakers, part of an established pattern.

Science & Tech

Artificial Intelligence Just Changed the Future of Information Security

At DARPA’s Cyber Grand Challenge, bots showed off their ability to help a world wallowing in vulnerable code.