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How France beat Russian meddling (and we could, too)
Since we're all expecting Kanye West to be a Supreme Court justice by Monday, it will surprise no one to find out that the completely normal, perfectly-operating administration in the White House is blowing off a new threat of interference and hacking in the upcoming elections. "Robert Mueller and the nation's top intelligence official say Russia is trying to interfere in the midterm elections," Politico reported, "but Republican and Democratic lawmakers say the Trump administration is keeping them in the dark about whether the U.S. is ready."
NASA chief backs Trump's Space Force proposal
Whatever you think of Trump's proposed Space Force, it has at least one ally in its corner: recently-installed (and Trump-selected) NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. In an interview with Axios, Bridenstine argued that space was becoming "more contested" and that the US had to be "willing to defend" space in order to maintain it. He argued that the Chinese and Russians were developing not only anti-satellite missiles, but co-orbital satellite weapons, jammers and other spaceborne threats. Allegedly, the Chinese see the US' lack of space weapons as an "Achilles' heel" it could exploit.
Contractor hoped to sell social media surveillance to oppressive regimes
Western companies are still interested in selling surveillance tools to governments that could easily abuse them. The Intercept claims to have leaked documents suggesting that Circinus, the defense contractor run by Trump fundraiser Elliott Broidy, planned to sell social media surveillance tools to governments still known for suppressing free speech, including Tunisia and the UAE. Circinus' tools harvest sites like Facebook and Twitter in a bid to find and identify "detractors" -- that is, political dissidents. While the software only sifts through public data, it's likely this information would be used to punish critics who could otherwise count on a degree of anonymity.
Microsoft’s ICE involvement illustrates tech’s denial problem
Nearly a decade ago, I had the good fortune of being one of the last people to interview the founder of Commodore International, Jack Tramiel (famous for Commodore computers and the popular C64), before he passed away. At 83, he died from heart failure after pioneering the consumer market for personal computers and home gaming, and working toward changing people's lives for the better through technology.
White House reportedly considers GDPR-like data protections
Online data privacy is a hot topic right now for a number of reasons. US residents and elected officials alike still have their eyes on Facebook as concerns continue to circulate over the policies that led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Further, more recent reports have revealed that the company shared data with a number of mobile device makers, sparking unease over what that means for consumers as well as national security. On the other side of the issue, Europe has now instituted its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the most rigorous set of privacy laws to date. Now, it looks like US officials are interested in exploring some regulations of their own.
Trump directs Pentagon to form a Space Force military branch
It looks like the US could have a sixth military branch sometime in the future, one focused entirely on space. President Trump said during a National Space Council meeting today that he has called for the development of a Space Force, CNBC reports. "I am hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces," he said. "Our destiny beyond the Earth is not only a matter of national identity but a matter of national security."
Trump’s 2020 campaign might include ex-Cambridge Analytica staff
A handful of former Cambridge Analytica employees might be working on Donald Trump's re-election campaign. The Associated Press reports that two of its reporters overheard Matt Oczkowski, Cambridge Analytica's former head of product, say that he and the firm he now leads were "doing the president's work for 2020" alongside Trump's 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale. A source familiar with that company, Data Propria, told the AP that work on the campaign had already begun.
Let's hope Trump didn't give Kim Jong Un the wrong ‘direct number’
President Trump's historic meeting with Kim Jong-Un may not have resulted in the complete de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but it did lead to a fascinating exchange in which the President claims to have given Kim a "very direct number" if the North Korean leader "has any difficulty." Wired raises an interesting point about the situation, though: given President Trump's attempts to keep his own smartphones away from security-minded staffers, is it possible he inadvertently created a potential security nightmare by giving Kim his personal phone number?
The scary truths about Trump’s nuclear summit
In the first summit meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea, Donald Trump met with Kim Jong-un on June 12, 2018, in Singapore. The two leaders smiled warmly, posed for cameras as friends, shook hands, and Trump spoke in glowing terms of admiration about Kim at the news conference.
US targets Chinese tech with a 25 percent tariff
Donald Trump has slapped a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, significantly ramping up trade tensions between the nations. The tariff applies to "industrially significant" goods in sectors like aerospace, information tech, robotics and machinery, but not on consumer goods like smartphones or TVs. "The United States can no longer tolerate losing our technology and intellectual property through unfair economic practices," Trump said in a statement.
Bipartisan Senate effort aims to override Trump’s deal to save ZTE
A bipartisan group of Senators has added language to the National Defense Authorization Act that would reinstate sanctions on Chinese firm ZTE, the Wall Street Journal reports. The legislation is set to be voted on this week. If it passes in the Senate -- and it's expected to -- it could override a deal that President Trump and the Commerce Department have put in place that would allow ZTE to once again purchase necessary components from US suppliers.
Donald Trump really wants to be allowed to block people on Twitter
If there's one thing President Donald Trump has made clear during his time in office so far, it's that he's a big fan of Twitter. And that includes -- as recent legal battles demonstrate -- blocking users that disagree with his views. And even though last month a federal judge ruled that doing this constituted a violation of the First Amendment, it seems it's a pretty important feature for Trump, as the US Justice Department now says it will appeal that ruling.
US will limit visas for Chinese tech students
The Trump adminstration's ever-growing trade fight with China is about to have a significant impact on Chinese students traveling abroad. After the State Department confirmed that it would shorten the length of some Chinese citizens' visas, the AP has learned that officials would limit visas to one year for any student studying in tech-related fields like aviation, high-tech manufacturing and robotics. While the exact aim isn't clear, those fields line up with the Made in China 2025 plan -- this would discourage students from earning degrees in the US solely to give China a technological edge.
Trump administration tells Congress it has deal to save ZTE
The US government should soon act on its promise to give ZTE another chance following its revived export ban. The New York Times has learned that the Trump administration has informed Congress of a Commerce Department deal that would let ZTE take American exports as long as it accepted new penalties. It would have to pay a "substantial" fine, shake up its management team and hire American compliance officers to keep it on the straight and narrow.
Federal judge rules that Trump can't block Twitter users
Ever since Donald Trump took office, there's been controversy around his Twitter addiction. Chief among the issues with president's use of Twitter is how he frequently blocks his critics. As an elected official, many have argued that his account represents official communication that should be free for anyone to see, and there have already been several lawsuits around his habit of blocking users. As of today, it looks like there's some legal weight behind that argument: a Federal judge just ruled that Trump should not be allowed to block users because it is a first amendment violation.
Donald Glover fans made /r/thedonald great again
The subreddit /r/thedonald (not to be confused with /r/the_donald) was a venue for fervent Donald Trump supporters to express their affection for America's president. That is, until Donald Glover's "This Is America" (performed as Childish Gambino) topped musical charts. Now, the subreddit has been taken over by Donald Glover fans, and the results are pretty much as spectacular as you'd expect.
Trump's iPhone use reportedly ignores 'inconvenient' security advice
Tonight Politico reports that the President is using mobile devices in ways that could increase his risk of being hacked. According to "senior administration officials" Donald Trump relies on at least two iPhones -- one to make phone calls and one for Twitter.
In time for hacking season, the US has no cybersecurity coordinator
Picture the scene: John Bolton stands proudly against a backdrop of an American flag, smiling beneath his pruriently confrontative mustache, dusting his hands off as befits a man who's just completed a task of wistfully virile middle-management. John Bolton just eradicated the White House positions (and people) who would stand between the United States and cyberattacks against our voting processes, our infrastructure and the tatters of our democracy. John Bolton grips his red stapler. John Bolton is in his happy place.
Net neutrality still faces an uphill battle in Congress
The Senate voted today on whether to reject the FCC decision to remove net neutrality protections -- and though it was unclear for some time whether the Democrats would gain enough Republican support to pass the measure, they did. Along with the 49 Senate Democrats, three Republican Senators -- Susan Collins (ME), John Kennedy (LA) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) -- voted to repeal the changes put into place by the FCC in December, resulting in a 52-47 tally. The new regulations are currently scheduled to go into effect June 11th. However, while this battle may have been won by those in support of net neutrality, there's still a long, hard road ahead, and the Senate measure isn't likely to survive.
Whistleblower: Cambridge Analytica couldn’t work with Democrats
Although Cambridge Analytica (CA) is preparing to shut down, US Congress isn't done trying to get answers about the firm's tactics to harvest online user data for political research. Today, in the latest chapter of a matter that has affected up to 87 million Facebook users, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding another hearing, titled "Cambridge Analytica and the Future of Data Privacy." One of the people testifying before the panel of senators is none other than whistleblower Christopher Wylie, the former director of research at CA who helped break the story earlier this year. In written testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wylie said that what he bore witness to during his time at CA, between 2013 and 2014, should alarm everyone.
