Mike McConnell is a former director of the National Security Agency and director of national intelligence. Michael Chertoff is a former homeland security secretary and is executive chairman of the Chertoff Group, a security and risk management advisory firm with clients in the technology sector. William Lynn is a former deputy defense secretary and is […]
With Defense Department networks under constant attack, officials have been at pains to develop necessary defensive measures. One approach: big data tools and analytic capabilities that have played a big role in the past and will continue to be vitally important in defending against a vast array of attacks. Many have called for more automation […]
As the more subtle attempts at undermining security become impossible, spies will have to find alternative routes to access their targets. Earlier this year the UK government published the legal framework under which GCHQ and other British spies can hack, use bugging devices (or even steal and replace) computers, servers, routers, laptops, and mobile phones […]
Of course, it’s often argued that all of this activity is simply the NSA (National Security Agency) doing their job: they break codes and have done so for decades, to make sure that criminals, terrorists, and others cannot plot in secret. If this means exploiting weaknesses in software in order to eavesdrop on those who […]
A black shrouded figure appears on the screen, looming over the rapt audience, talking about surveillance. But this is no Big Brother figure seeking obedience though, rather the opposite.Perhaps even his nemesis. NSA contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden is explaining how his former employer and other intelligence agencies have worked to undermine privacy on the internet and […]
Hack the Pentagon Program Hackers found about 90 vulnerabilities in the Defense Department’s public websites as part of a highly touted bug bounty program, officials say. Those vulnerabilities included the ability to manipulate website content, “but nothing that was… earth-shattering” and worth shuttering the program over, according to Corey Harrison, a member of the department’s […]
No matter how clever and well-constructed your current passwords may be, they may become obsolete under new guidance for federal system authentication. Indeed, in a recent GitHub public preview document, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says it will offer dramatic changes to its guidelines for federal agencies’ digital authentication methods. In its […]
magine taking a time machine back to 1750—a time when the world was in a permanent power outage, long-distance communication meant either yelling loudly or firing a cannon in the air, and all transportation ran on hay. When you get there, you retrieve a dude, bring him to 2015, and then walk him around and […]
Most in the United States are aware that the worst criminal offenders around the globe appear on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) “Most Wanted Fugitives” list, the “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, or the “Wanted by the FBI” podcast. But what about cybercriminals? As hackers and cybercriminals become more advanced in their hacking techniques, the […]
Government thinks open data is an add-on that boosts transparency, but it’s more than that. Most open data portals don’t look like labors of love. They look like abandoned last-minute science fair project. The current open data movement is more than a decade old, but some are still asking why they should even bother. “Right now, […]