Author Archive
Abby Ohlheiser
Digital Government
The U.S. Just Found Some Rogue Smallpox In a Closet, No Big Deal
Vials of a smallpox-causing virus in a lab's storage room.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
Apple, Facebook, and Other Tech Companies Will Disclose More About Government Data Requests
But that doesn't mean that every government request for data will become public knowledge.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Emerging Tech
Watch Live: NASA Astronauts Take a Spacewalk to Repair the ISS
Astronauts Steve Swanson and Rick Mastracchio will install a backup computer on the exterior of the International Space Station.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
Google Just Bought the Drone Company that Facebook Had Its Eye On
The drone maker will help Google with its "Project Loon" initiative, which looks to provide internet access to remote areas.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Cybersecurity
What You Need to Know About Heartbleed, the New Security Bug Scaring the Internet
You'll have to change all of your passwords, and temporarily avoid any site known to be vulnerable.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Emerging Tech
Mars Photo Probably Shows a 'Cosmic Ray Hit,' Not an Underground Alien Base
NASA's Curiosity transmits Martian landscape image with a curious light in the distance.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
White House to Part Ways With the Contractor Behind HealthCare.gov
CGI Federal's contract expires at the end of February.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Modernization
FCC Votes to Review Its Ban on In-Flight Calls
Commission votes 3-2 to revisit the decades-old rule.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
Can Software Be Patented? The Supreme Court Might Finally Settle the Issue
Court agrees to hear CLS Bank International's challenge to a financial software patent.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Cybersecurity
Stuxnet Leaker Might Be the General Credited with Getting It Started
Investigation reportedly zeroing in on James Cartwright.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
White House Staffer Fired for Running a Trollish Twitter Account
Man behind @NatSecWonk was fired for a feed that included criticisms and internal information.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Featured eBooks
Digital Government
NSA's Massive New Data Center Experiences Major Electrical Failures
The Utah center has suffered 10 meltdowns over 13 months.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Cybersecurity
Brazil's Strategy to Evade the NSA Involves Buying a New Satellite
U.S. intelligence has collected Brazilian emails, phone calls, and texts in bulk.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
The NSA Pays Some American Companies for Network Access
Companies who provide the agency access to their communications networks are often paid for their trouble.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
NSA Can't Stop Inadvertently Collecting Domestic Emails
Programs go back further and cover more territory than previously thought, report says.
- By Abby Ohlheiser
Emerging Tech
NASA's Planet-Hunting Telescope Will Never Hunt Planets Again
The space agency has given up on repair attempts to the Kepler Telescope.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
Leaked NSA Audit Found Agency Broke Privacy Rules 'Thousands' of Times
New information raises fresh concerns about surveillance oversight.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
NSA Will Replace Potential Snowdens With Computers
Agency to eliminate 90 percent of systems administrators who monitor networks.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire
Digital Government
The Government Can't Connect a Single Death to Bradley Manning's Leaks
Sentencing gets underway with a setback for the prosecution.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, National Journal
Cybersecurity
The White House Doesn't Like the House's Data Mining Amendment
Administration opposes effort to 'hastily dismantle one of our intelligence community's counterterrorism tools,' statement says.
- By Abby Ohlheiser, The Wire