Cybersecurity

McCain to White House: If You Won’t Establish a Cyber Defense Policy, Congress Will

A Senate Armed Forces Committee blasted the White House for "ignoring" issues related to encryption.

Cybersecurity

Nothing Pixelated Will Stay Safe on the Internet

Sensitive information such as obscured license plate numbers or censored faces may soon become easier to reveal.

Cybersecurity

New policy on encryption appears unlikely

The director of the National Security Agency and the undersecretary of Defense for intelligence told a Senate panel that encryption issues would continue to be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Cybersecurity

Military Supermarket Chain's Encryption Setup is 'Unacceptable,' Commissary Says

Computer-generated passwords essentially are stored underneath the doormat, beside personal and financial data, contracting documents show.

Emerging Tech

Beyond the Black Box: Quantum Computing Explained

Quantum computers break the laws of Newtonian physics by tapping into the science of quantum physics.

Digital Government

Taking blockchain beyond bitcoin

Blockchain isn't just for bitcoin, and federal agencies might find other uses for the secure recordkeeping tool.

Emerging Tech

Can Encryption Protect Government Files Forever?

Suddenly, just like athletes who might initially be able to hide their doping only to later get caught by improved testing standards, the government found itself relying on a protection scheme that could no longer keep hidden its secrets.

Cybersecurity

FBI Director: Time to Discuss Encryption Before 'Something Terrible Happens'

"At some point, encryption is going to figure into a major event in this country," Comey said.

Cybersecurity

The Fight Over Consumer Encryption Moves Into Strange New Phase

Law enforcement officials say it’s on the tech world and privacy advocates to prove a backdoor would undermine data security.

Cybersecurity

Two years after Heartbleed, an improved OpenSSL aims for government approval

A much-improved version of the cryptographic building block lacks FIPS 140-2 validation, but SafeLogic is stepping in to change that.

Cybersecurity

New ransomware rips and runs

A new kind of ransomware deletes computer files rather than decrypt and return them after victims pay up.

Cybersecurity

Facebook Is Testing Encrypted, Self-Destructing Messages

The social network wants the 900 million users of its Messenger chat app to know it’s serious about privacy, too.

Modernization

A Startup is Trying to Solve Bitcoin's Child Pornography Problem

Bitcoin's promise of anonymity and no government regulation makes it a potential hotbed for nefarious activities.

Cybersecurity

Burr keeps up pressure for encryption bill

The chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence made a pitch for his encryption access legislation by framing the technology as an enabler of confidential communications among terrorists.

Cybersecurity

Why should feds care about blockchain?

Federal standards setters can't predict how blockchain might serve government ends, but secure voting, health records and identity management are possible applications.

Cybersecurity

DOJ official: Some crypto poses 'undeniable' threat to public safety

Encryption has its virtues, but it is not universally good, said Leslie Caldwell, assistant attorney general for Justice's Criminal Division.

Cybersecurity

Quantum Computers Will Break Today’s Cyber Protections, Scientists Say

True quantum computers don't exist yet, but cryptography needs to evolve for when they do, according to NIST scientists.

Digital Government

The Supreme Court Expands FBI Hacking Powers

The justices signed off Thursday on a new procedural rule for warrants targeting computers.