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
Harassing Journalists Is ‘Absolutely Unacceptable’: Acting CBP Commissioner
Morgan spoke several days after a passport control officer at Dulles airport held up a Defense One editor until he said he wrote "propaganda."
Threats
US Customs Officer Harasses Defense One Journalist at Dulles Airport
Repeating “You write propaganda, right?”, officer held passport until he received an affirmative answer.
Science & Tech
US to Deploy Anti-Drone Defenses Along US-Mexico Border
The manufacturer says its Titan system hijacks incoming drones' control signals, then tells them to land or return to base.
Science & Tech
DHS Used Google Translate to Vet Refugees. Even Google Says That's Dangerous
Immigration officials have been told to vet refugees’ social media posts using Google's online translator. Language experts caution even students against using the service.
Science & Tech
DHS is Struggling to Coordinate Its Sprawling Research Efforts
Inspector general finds poor oversight and shoddy data management in the department's Science and Technology Directorate.
Threats
DHS Is Finally Going After White Supremacists. That Won't Be Simple.
A new strategy prioritizes domestic terrorism, especially of the extreme right. Now the agency has to actually tackle the problem.
Ideas
DHS’s New Counterterrorism Strategy Reflects Professionalism, Not Politics
The counterterrorism experts who oversaw the Obama-Trump policy transition applaud the new strategy’s bold approach to domestic terrorism and guns.
Ideas
We Can’t Secure 5G Networks by Banning Huawei Gear
The next-generation network simply doesn’t work like the current one. Staying safe will require a new relationship between business and government.
Science & Tech
DHS Wants to Collect More Social-Media Records
The intention is to better understand people applying for entry as refugees and immigrants, but the effort would also collect information about their American friends and family members.
Threats
Why the 2020 Campaigns Are Still Soft Targets for Hackers
Three years ago, Hillary Clinton's campaign chief clicked on a link that allowed Russia into his Gmail account. It could easily happen again.
Ideas
Insurance Companies Are Fueling Ransomware Attacks
Even when public agencies and companies hit by ransomware could recover their files on their own, insurers prefer to pay the ransom. Why? The attacks are good for business.
Science & Tech
US Testing Autonomous Border-Patrol Drones
Planck Aerosystems gets funding to try its small rotorcraft in operational environments over the next three to six months.
Science & Tech
DHS Seeks Standards for 'Smart City' Sensors, Starting in St. Louis
Public-safety IoT devices promise to help cities dispatch and direct first-responders and other municipal agencies — if the devices can talk to each other.
Ideas
Why Hong Kong Protesters Are Sawing Down Sensor-Laden Lampposts
The government confirms that the hardware could spy on citizens, but says protesters’ fears are unfounded.
Ideas