Ideas

Why Is New Jersey Grouping American 'Black Separatists' with ISIS?

The state’s new terror-group ranking raises more questions than it answers.

Science & Tech

Some DHS Employees Are Suspicious of 'Extreme Vetting'

The Department of Homeland Security has 30 days to figure out what "extreme vetting" means. Some DHS officials and counterterrorism experts find the concept dubious.

Policy

CIA, ODNI Get Exemption from Trump's Hiring Freeze

Agency leaders are told that if someone would work during a government shutdown, their job can be filled during the freeze.

Policy

'We Are Better than this Ban': US Diplomats Plan Official Dissent

White House to State Department: “They should get with the program or they should go.”

Ideas

Everything I Need to Know about Russia’s Internet Interference I Learned Through College Pranks

It's not terribly difficult to inject fake news into conversation.

Policy

Trump Wants DHS to Hire 15,000 for Border Security? Not So Fast

The proposed surge would provide assets some agency officials have long requested. It would also enable Trump to fulfill a campaign promise—but it comes with challenges.  

Policy

Trump Has Made an Enemy Out of a Friend

The U.S. is not talking to Mexico, a neighbor, trade partner and trusted ally because of a campaign promise few took seriously.

Policy

Trump Orders Halt to ‘Catch and Release,’ But There’s a Catch

Ending the practice of releasing illegal border crossers before they can be deported is easier said than done.

Science & Tech

Border Officers: Real Security is More Complicated Than Building a Wall

Trump’s order notwithstanding, it would take years and new technology to truly close the border.

Policy

Why Is Obama Expanding Surveillance Powers Right Before He Leaves Office?

It could be to prevent Trump from extending them even more.

Ideas

ISIS in the Caribbean

The spread of Salafi Islam and a government’s blind eye toward recruiting has helped lead more Trinidadians to fight for ISIS than any other country in the Western hemisphere.

Policy

What You Don’t Know About Gen. John Kelly

The four-star boy from Boston brings to DHS the grief of losing friends to America’s drug epidemic and a son to the war on terrorism.

Threats

The US Is Losing at Influence Warfare. Here’s Why

Lawmakers and leaders want to fight foreign influence operations, but they aren’t asking the right questions.

Threats

Trump Promises to Ask the Pentagon for a Plan to Defend the Country from Cyber Attacks

The president-elect included the plan in a list of 'executive actions we can take on day one to restore our laws and bring back our jobs.'

Ideas

Transnational Criminals Move at Network Speed. At SOUTHCOM, We’re Learning to Do the Same

But this sea change must be matched by U.S. and foreign partners, writes the leader of U.S. Southern Command.

Threats

DHS Is Drawing Up 'Strategic Principles' for Internet of Things

The Homeland Security secretary is working with law enforcement and private companies to prevent massive distributed denial of service attacks.

Ideas

The True Costs of America's Credit-Card War on Terror

The bills will be coming for decades, in the form of debt-service interest, veterans’ medical expenses, and forgone opportunities.

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.

Science & Tech

US Gets Serious about Portable Nuke-Detector Prototypes

Homeland Security spends $20M to develop devices to find bombs being transported in ships, on metro systems, or in public places.

Ideas

Why is America Still Saying 'Never Again' About Terrorism?

Despite an administration change and major shifts in national security, the federal government is still taking a maximalist approach to policy.