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
McConnell To Pair Cybersecurity Measure With Defense Bill
Privacy advocates still fear the information-sharing bill could lead to more NSA spying.
Science & Tech
How OPM Can Find Its Missing Data on the Dark Web
The best way to recover from breaches is to assume that they’re inevitable — and start looking for your data before you know it’s gone.
Ideas
Two Years After Snowden, Are We Better Off?
The NSA's mass surveillance authority has been scaled back, but answers to other digital issues are still being contentiously debated.
Policy
Senate Passes NSA Reform Bill
The USA Freedom Act, which will restore but reform the expired Patriot Act's spy authorities, earned final passage Tuesday and will be sent to the president.
Policy
GOP View Rand Paul as National Security Distraction in March to 2016
The presidential hopeful got what he wanted—expiration of the Patriot Act—but he alienated a lot of people along the way.
Threats
Here's What Happens To Spying With the Patriot Act Now Expired
Some key authorities may be dead for now, but the intelligence community has a number of weapons and workarounds still available.
Science & Tech
How Special Operators Are Taking Artificial Intelligence To War
Data and machine learning will steer missions and predict uprisings before they start.
Policy
What Is Rand Paul's NSA Endgame?
With days to go before the Patriot Act expires, the Kentucky Republican could kill the agency’s domestic-phone spying — or save it.
Policy
Exasperated White House Pushes Senate To Pass Surveillance Reform Bill
Without naming Rand Paul, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest faulted the Kentucky Republican for holding up legislation.
Science & Tech
NSA Trying to Track Your Smartphone Finger Strokes
Smartphone technology built by Lockheed Martin promises to verify a user's identity based on the swiftness and shape of the individual’s finger strokes on a touch screen.
Science & Tech
The Pentagon Is Rethinking a $475 Million Cyber Defense Proposal
Nearly a week after extending the terms of its original proposal, U.S. Cyber Command revoked a 5-year contract offer that aimed to backfill significant staffing shortages.
Business