Science & Tech
What’s Inside the Justice Department’s Secret Cybersecurity Memo?
Despite calls for its release, the government will not make public a memo that Sen. Ron Wyden says is crucial to the Senate’s looming cybersecurity debate.
Science & Tech
An Unexpected Voice Speaks Out Against Backdoored Encryption
Former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff joins the league of technologists who have come out against the FBI’s push to put holes in privacy technology.
Threats
Former Pentagon Intel Chief Says Military’s Clandestine Service Is Growing
The original vision for the Defense Clandestine Service was scaled back, but Michael Vickers says the new agency is still building up.
Business
Why Lone Wolf Attacks Are So Hard To Predict
Events like the shootings in Tennessee show the possibilities and limitations of predictive analytics.
Science & Tech
Suddenly, Everyone Wants the NSA's Cyber Defense Tech
Orders are rolling in, from banks and agriculture companies alike, for the spy agency’s newly available commercial products.
Science & Tech
The Best Way To Stick It To Dictators, Help Dissidents, and Boost Privacy
It makes the Internet safer and allows people living under autocracy to get around government censors. But the FBI wants to break it.
Science & Tech
FBI Director Warns Lawmakers ISIS Is Using Encryption To Order Killings
'This is not your grandfather’s al-Qaida,' James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Ideas
FBI Director Comey Is Wrong: Strong Encryption Makes Us All Safer
Forcing companies to keep cyber back doors for law enforcement gives adversaries a way in, too.
Science & Tech
How To Break Into the CIA’s Cloud on Amazon
Looking to steal America’s spy data from Amazon? Hope you’re up for a challenge.
Ideas
Espionage Lessons from the OPM Hack
It's been nearly a month since the mammoth breach. Here's a few lessons the government can immediately pick up about espionage in 2015.
Science & Tech
FBI Director: Encryption Is Great As Long As It Lets Us In
Ahead of Capitol Hill hearings, James Comey blogs that a good-guys-only backdoor would keep Americans safer than universal strong encryption.
Ideas
Keep Calm and Spy On: Why the OPM Hack Won't Bring Down US Intelligence
For starters, there are very few known cases in which blackmail was involved in getting government employees to give up classified information.
Science & Tech
China Is the Leading Suspect in OPM Hack, US Says
The intelligence community thinks they know who stole the data. That doesn’t change much.
Science & Tech
NSA Chief: Don’t Assume China Hacked OPM
Attribution, which came so quickly when North Korea hacked Sony, is proving trickier when China stands accused.
Policy
Senate Passes Amendment Banning Torture
The bill has little chance of becoming law if the White House vetoes the NDAA, but it is nonetheless a symbolic measure.
Ideas
A New Look at the CIA’s Pre-9/11 Mindset Reveals Uncomfortable Truths About Intel
An inspector general report shows what’s gotten better in the past decade — and what’s still a problem.
Threats
OPM Breach Just Put America’s Spies ‘At High Risk’
Hackers may now have detailed biographical information and a virtual phonebook of every United States intelligence asset.
Science & Tech
Second OPM Hack Exposed Information About Military, Intelligence Workers
Officials confirmed Friday they had detected a second intrusion that may be far more damaging than the one reported last week.
Policy
Senate Democrats Blast McConnell for Tying Cyber Measure to Defense Policy Bill
Legislation that has been long debated in the Senate is being jammed into the NDAA — and Democrats are furious.
Policy