When mysterious hackers triggered the shutdown of a Saudi Arabian oil refinery in August of 2017, the subsequent investigation found that the malware used in that attack had unprecedented, uniquely lethal potential: It was intended to disable safety systems in the plant designed to prevent dangerous conditions that could lead to leaks or explosions. Now, […]
Wednesday night, at a brief, hastily arranged press conference at FBI headquarters, four top US national security officials announced solemnly that they had evidence that two foreign adversaries, Iran and Russia, had obtained US voter data and appeared to be trying to spread disinformation about the election. It was the latest—and most troubling—episode in a […]
Twitter for years functioned as an unrestricted mouthpiece for hackers of all stripes, from freewheeling hacktivists like Anonymous to the Kremlin-created cutouts like Guccifer 2.0. But as the company tries to crack down on hackers’ use of its platform to distribute their stolen information, it’s finding that that’s not a simple decision. And now, less […]
Twitter for years functioned as an unrestricted mouthpiece for hackers of all stripes, from freewheeling hacktivists like Anonymous to the Kremlin-created cutouts like Guccifer 2.0. But as the company tries to crack down on hackers’ use of its platform to distribute their stolen information, it’s finding that that’s not a simple decision. And now, less […]
And in this case, you would have to say, “according to whom?” Some computer store owner received a computer that he later identified as Hunter Biden’s. You would have a fair amount of reporting to do just to make transparent what the chain of custody was of this evidence. And I think one lesson of […]
As ever, the NSA often applied the brakes. The Snowden leaks had exposed many of its secret programs and capabilities, forcing the agency to painstakingly rebuild its exploits and infrastructure around the world. Now, Cyber Command risked revealing its surviving programs and new infrastructure. There were frequent debates about the trade-offs of using, and therefore […]
America has now entered what may be one of the most dangerous months in recent memory. That was true even before Thursday night, when a virus that should have been easy to keep away from a responsible White House sidelined entire ranks of West Wing staff, senior Republican leaders, and hospitalized the president himself. Now, […]
Minutes before President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday morning that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19, two Boeing E-6B Mercury planes showed up in public flight data—one charting a course off the East Coast of the United States and one off the West Coast. Even in pandemic times there’s nothing […]
Election officials, journalists, and even Facebook have been busy preparing Americans for the likelihood of having to wait days or weeks after November 3 to know who won the presidency. Remarkably, the fate of another branch of government could take even longer to be settled. There’s a small but real possibility that the country won’t […]
“They sent two in a Democrat area. They sent out a thousand ballots. Everybody got two ballots. This is going to be a fraud like you’ve never seen.” It’s tough to know which “area” Trump was referring to here, but election officials recognize that a small number of voters may attempt to vote twice in […]