DepartmentOfHomelandSecurity
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DOJ report finds foreign meddling had no impact on midterm elections
If attempts at election meddling had any tangible effect on the US midterms, you won't hear about it from some officials. The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have submitted a joint report to President Trump saying there was no evidence a foreign government or agency had a "material impact" on the infrastructures of the 2018 vote, including campaigns and political bodies. The actual conclusions are classified, but they're consistent with what the government said after the elections, the Justice Department said.
US border officers don't always delete collected traveler data
Privacy advocates aren't just concerned about warrantless device searches at the border because of the potential for deliberate abuse -- it's that the officials might be reckless. And unfortunately, there's evidence this is the case in the US. Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General has released audit findings showing that Customs and Border Protection officers didn't properly follow data handling procedures in numerous instances, increasing the chances for data leaks and hurting accountability.
Amazon pitched ICE on its facial recognition technology
Amazon has faced pushback, both internally and externally, for selling its Rekognition facial recognition technology to law enforcement. It's a move the company's own employees said would "serve to harm the most marginalized." Now, The Daily Beast reports that Amazon met with ICE officials in June, and it pitched the agency on Rekognition.
Apple told Congress it found no evidence of server tampering
In a letter to Congress, Apple reiterated that it found no evidence of microchip-based server tampering by Chinese agents that was reported by Bloomberg Businessweek. The company, along with Amazon and server manufacturer Super Micro, had previously released forceful denials of suspicions that its servers contained malicious components. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and UK cybersecurity officials had also chimed in, saying they have no reason to doubt Amazon and Apple's denials.
Senate passes bill that lets the government destroy private drones
This week, the Senate passed the FAA Reauthorization Act, which, among other things, renews funding for the Federal Aviation Administration and introduces new rules for airports and aircraft. But the bill, which now just needs to be signed by the president, also addresses drones. And while parts of the bill extend some aspects of drone use -- such as promoting drone package delivery and drone testing -- it also gives the federal government power to take down a private drone if it's seen as a "credible threat."
Face scanning in US airports is rife with technical problems
If you've had misgivings about the effectiveness of Homeland Security's airport face scanning (let alone the privacy implications), you're not alone. The department's Inspector General has issued a report warning that the scanning system is struggling with "technical and operational challenges." Customs and Border Protection could only use the technology with 85 percent of passengers due to staff shortages, network problems and hastened boarding times during flight delays. The system did catch 1,300 people overstaying their allowed time in the US, but it might have caught more -- and there were problems "consistently" matching people from specific age groups and countries.
New DHS center aims to protect US infrastructure from cyberattacks
The Department of Homeland Security is expected to announce a new center today that will work to protect US infrastructure from cyberattacks, the Wall Street Journal reports. DHS Under Secretary Christopher Krebs told the publication that the National Risk Management Center was created to address growing threats to the nation's infrastructure from foreign-based attacks, citing last year's WannaCry ransomware attack as an example. Banks, energy companies and other industries will be a focus of the new center. "It's not about a single bank," said Krebs. "It's about a sector of banks and the function they have in society."
Palmer Luckey chases government contracts with 'virtual wall'
When you hear talk of a border wall, you typically picture an actual, physical construction. But that's not the case for Palmer Luckey. The Oculus co-founder and his startup Anduril Industries have been working on a virtual wall -- one complete with cameras, sensors and VR -- with the aim of scoring a US defense contract and providing border security at a fraction of the cost of a physical wall. Luckey discussed plans for this technology last year, but now it's being tested, both officially and unofficially, and it's catching the eye of US officials.
Proposed law would give DHS power to seize and destroy drones
The Senate is currently considering a bill that would give the Department of Homeland Security more power to research, surveil, seize and destroy drones flying in the US, Gizmodo reports. Yesterday during a hearing, DHS officials expressed support for the bipartisan legislation, saying current laws prevent the agency from effectively mitigating the potential threats presented by drones.
DHS will use facial recognition to scan travelers at the border
Last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) put out a notice, saying it was looking for a facial recognition system that could work with images taken of people inside their cars. The idea was that such a system could be used to scan people entering and leaving the country through the US/Mexico border and match them to government documents like passports and visas. Now, The Verge reports that DHS will be launching a test of a system aiming to do just that.
Judge dismisses Kaspersky lawsuits over government ban
Last year, the US government made moves to ban the use of Kaspersky security software in federal agencies, claiming the company's ties to the Russian government represented a security risk. In September, the Department of Homeland Security issued an order that required federal departments and agencies to remove the company's software from their systems. Then, Congress passed and President Trump approved a bill -- the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) -- that also banned Kaspersky software from federal government use. Kaspersky subsequently filed two lawsuits combatting both bans, but a judge has now dismissed them.
Homeland Security database would track bloggers, social media
Fears about the potential effects of propaganda and fake news remain high, and American officials are determined to keep track of media outlets in a bid to curb these misinformation campaigns. The Department of Homeland Security has put out a call for companies that could create a database tracking over 290,000 "media influencers" around the world, including online news outlets, bloggers and prominent social network accounts. The system would identify contributor details (such as contact info and their employers), and would allow searching for individuals and outlets through categories like their locations, the focuses of their coverage and their sentiment.
DHS may have found unauthorized Stingray devices in Washington DC
The Associated Press reports today that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that it found what appear to be unauthorized cell-site simulators, also known as Stingrays, in Washington DC last year. The agency told Senator Ron Wyden in a letter that it had found "anomalous activity" consistent with these sorts of devices in the Washington area and a DHS official told the AP that the findings were obtained through a 90-day trial that began in January of last year. Senator Wyden sent the DHS a letter last November requesting information on the use of cell-site simulators by foreign intelligence services.
DHS and FBI warn Russia is behind cyberattacks on US infrastructure
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI released a report today detailing Russian efforts to hack into US government entities and infrastructure sectors, including energy, nuclear, commercial, water, aviation and critical manufacturing sectors. The agencies said the cyberattacks have been ongoing since at least March 2016 and their report described the attacks as "a multi-stage intrusion campaign by Russian government cyber actors."
Facebook knows it must do more to fight bad actors
Not everything at SXSW 2018 was about films or gadgets. A few blocks away from the Austin Convention Center, where the event is being held, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) hosted a number of panels for its Innovation Policy Day. In a session dubbed "Fighting Terror with Tech," Facebook's Lead Policy Manager of Counterterrorism, Brian Fishman, spoke at great length about what the company is doing to keep bad actors away from its platform. That doesn't only include terrorists who may be using the site to communicate, or to try to radicalize others, but also trolls, bots and the spreading of hate speech and fake news.
DHS to release an active shooter training simulator for teachers
Last June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a virtual training program for first responders aimed at preparing them for an active shooter incident. Now, there's a program specifically for teachers. "With teachers, they did not self-select into a role where they expect to have bullets flying near them. Unfortunately, it's becoming a reality," Tamara Griffith, one of the chief engineers of the program, told Gizmodo. "And so we want to give them that chance to understand what options are available to them and what might work well for them."
Facebook and Microsoft disabled slew of North Korean cyber threats
If you ask the White House, North Korea's WannaCry attack was just the tip of the iceberg. Homeland security adviser Tom Bossert reported that Facebook and Microsoft disabled a range of North Korean online threats in the past week. Facebook removed accounts and "stopped the operational execution" of ongoing attacks, while Microsoft patched existing attacks that went beyond WannaCry. Details of just what those attacks were aren't available.
Kaspersky sues US government over federal software ban
To no one's surprise, Kaspersky Lab isn't happy that the US government has banned its software over the potential for Russian influence. The security firm has sued the Trump administration to challenge the ban, arguing that the Department of Homeland Security's September directive didn't provide "due process" and unfairly tarnished the company's reputation.
Homeland Security claims DJI drones are spying for China
A memo from the Los Angeles office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau (ICE) has been making the rounds and it states some pretty bold claims about drone-maker DJI. The memo, which was apparently issued in August, says that the officials assess "with moderate confidence that Chinese-based company DJI Science and Technology is providing US critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government." The LA ICE office also says that the information is based on, "open source reporting and a reliable source within the unmanned aerial systems industry with first and secondhand access."
Federal employees stole data from Homeland Security
Three employees of the inspector general's office for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are accused of stealing a computer system that contained around 246,000 employees' personal data. That information included names, social security numbers and dates of birth, USA Today reports, and one of the suspects is also said to have had in their possession around 159,000 agency case files. The data breach was reported to DHS officials in May and acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke decided in August to notify the employees whose information was included in the stolen data.
