Ideas
Don’t Blame Foreign Hackers for the Chaos in Iowa
Blame an ill-considered push for untested technology. Securing our elections means getting the simple things right.
Threats
Spotted: Ransomware That Targets Industrial Controls
EKANS is the first known malware made to freeze the systems that run electrical utilities and the like, says cyber firm Dragos, adding that there's no apparent link to Iran.
Science & Tech
Inside America's First All-Biometric Airline Terminal
At Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, facial-recognition cameras and other ID systems plug into a data backbone installed by Customs and Border Patrol.
Threats
DHS Starts Collecting DNA From Some Detainees at US Border
Agencies will send samples to the FBI’s databases for indefinite storage.
Ideas
Most-Read of 2020 (So Far)
We're three months into the next year already, if you go by the fiscal calendar. Here's the most-clicked posts on our site since Oct. 1.
Science & Tech
Federal Bill Would Constrain Some Police Use of Facial-Recognition Tools
A 72-hour limit on tracking individuals would become the first, and somewhat arbitrary, federal line in the sand.
Science & Tech
CBP Reverses Course on Mandatory Facial Scans for US Citizens
After criticism from Congress and privacy advocates, the border security agency says it will pull back a proposed rule change.
Science & Tech
CBP Aims to Sweep US Citizens into Facial-Recognition Program
A proposed rule change would no longer allow citizens and green card holders to opt out of Customs and Border Protection’s biometrics program.
Science & Tech
DHS Wants Every Agency to Have a Vulnerability Disclosure Program
A draft directive would require civilian agencies to find and fix network vulnerabilities spotted by public security researchers.
Science & Tech
At DHS, an Exodus of Tech and Cyber Leaders
The rotating cast of officials in top tech and cyber jobs could hinder the department’s ability to develop and execute a consistent digital strategy.
Science & Tech
Too Many CISOs Are Spoiling Feds' Cyber Response
Adversaries are starting to exploit the paralysis caused when "You have all these people who have slightly conflicting guidance and opinions."
Policy
Apprehensions of Undocumented Immigrants on US-Mexico Border Continue to Fall
The figure is the lowest since July 2018 and marks the fifth consecutive month that the number has dropped.
Ideas
Do Americans Still Want The US to Be the World’s Security Leader?
The post-Trump awakening of political activism is inspiring, but seems to end at the border. We’re teaming up with CNAS to find out why.
Ideas
Protecting US Bases Increasingly Requires Hardening Civilian Infrastructure
Congress needs to fund its Defense Community Infrastructure Program, and the military needs to think beyond its gates.
Threats
Border Agents Can Now Get Classified Intelligence Information. Experts Call That Dangerous.
Classified information will flow from U.S. intelligence agencies to the National Vetting Center to border agents. Migrants and others denied entry will be unable to see the evidence against them.
Science & Tech
Dept. of Interior Grounds Its Chinese-Made Drones
Agency leaders green-lit the purchases in July despite warnings from DHS and outside experts that Beijing might collect data from the drones.
Science & Tech
The Endless Aerial Surveillance of the Border
New reports suggest that drone activity at the southern border is spreading to nearby cities, erasing the line between police procedures and immigration enforcement.
Threats
DHS Opens Civil-Rights Investigation into Harassment of Reporter at Dulles
Watson's account of his interaction with a Customs and Border Protection officer received broad media coverage.
Science & Tech
New Tech Promises to Stop Drones from Overflying Stadiums — and Find the People Flying Them
Raytheon says its products helped police nab four flying drones over an outdoor concert.
Threats