Author Archive
Ideas
Mass Surveillance Is Coming to a City Near You
A tech entrepreneur wants to track the residents of a high-crime American community.
Emerging Tech
Should We Give Kids an Internet of Their Own?
Instead of regulating the internet to protect young people, give them a youth-net of their own.
Ideas
The Dangers of a Mandatory DNA Database
A controversy in Arizona is a portent of future public-policy fights.
Digital Government
Barack Obama Reflects on Leaving the Presidency
He gave his first major interview as a private citizen to Prince Harry of Wales—discussing his marriage, his aspirations, and the importance of free speech.
Digital Government
Parents Share How They Protect Their Kids Online
Advice for anyone trying to figure out how to balance the perils of the digital world with its benefits.
Emerging Tech
Why Would Anyone Fear a Self-Driving Car?
An advocate for the technology argues that the leap of faith it demands is one that Americans have already made.
Cybersecurity
The Future of Privacy Is Plausible Deniability
In a hackable world where neither NSA nor Sony Pictures nor John Podesta could safeguard their private communications, the surest way to keep data secure may be surrounding it with decoys.
Cybersecurity
Should the Careless Be Punished for Getting Hacked?
A computer security expert grapples with how to better protect us from cyberattacks.
Digital Government
All the Federal Agencies that Fly Drones over US Soil
On Wednesday, USA Today reported the Pentagon “has deployed drones to spy over U.S. territory for nonmilitary missions over the past decade."
Digital Government
What the FBI vs. Apple Encryption Fight Is Really About
When software engineers at Apple designed the iPhone’s security features, they labored knowing that millions were relying on them to safeguard their privacy.
Digital Government
An Unprecedented Threat to Privacy
A private company has captured 2.2 billion photos of license plates in cities throughout America. It stores them in a database, tagged with the location where they were taken. And it is selling that data.
Featured eBooks
Emerging Tech
How Police Departments Can Evaluate Threats by Using an Algorithm
Cops, firefighters and EMTs react in ways shaped by whatever they’re told.
Modernization
Do Encrypted Phones Threaten National Security?
A legislator compares manufacturing devices with strong, end-to-end encryption to dumping toxic waste in a stream.
Digital Government
Should Google Ever Lie to Us?
Search-engine architects must decide when their creations should act as a kind of expert and when they should neutrally direct people to what they are seeking.
Cybersecurity
Why the Government Should Destroy -- Not Store -- Employees' Sensitive Information
Adjusting to a world where no data is secure
Modernization
Three Reasons Apple’s New Encryption Technology is a Good Idea (Even if the FBI Hates It)
The benefits of secure encryption far outweigh the costs of devices that "go dark" even when authorities have a lawful warrant.
Cybersecurity
Commentary: Who Can Respect a System That Helps the CIA to Behave This Way?
This is exactly the sort of situation that would an encourage a reluctant leaker to step forward.
Digital Government
Senator: The White House Should Launch a Criminal Probe of the CIA
The agency spied on a congressional investigation into the torture of prisoners, then claimed it hadn't.
Digital Government
Does John Brennan Know Too Much for Obama to Fire Him?
It's difficult to cross man with details on every secret drone strike you've authorized—especially the legally dubious ones.
Cybersecurity