Cybersecurity
Spy Agencies Stopped Collecting GPS, Phone Location Data Last Year
The decision came in the wake of a Supreme Court decision restricting law enforcement’s use of such information.
Modernization
NSA says it can collect metadata for encrypted comms
During a hearing to discuss reauthorization for a number of controversial spying authorities, intelligence and law enforcement officials indicated they could sweep up logistical records related to encrypted communications.
Emerging Tech
Did Body Cameras Backfire?
Body cameras were supposed to fix a broken system. What happened?
Digital Government
Border Agents Can Now Get Classified Intelligence Information. Experts Call That Dangerous.
The Trump administration is creating a center that will give immigration agents access to information from U.S. intelligence agencies. Migrants and others denied entry will be unable to see the evidence against them because it is classified.
Cybersecurity
Report: 2020 is the Year Data Gets Weaponized
Research firm Forrester experts criminals and bad actors to weaponized artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the results won’t be pretty.
Digital Government
The ACCC Is Suing Google over Tracking Users. Here's Why It Matters.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission follows regulators in countries including the U.S. and Germany in taking action against the way “tech giants” harvest and exploit their users’ data.
Emerging Tech
Silicon Valley Rep Calls For Task Force, Legislation on Government Use of Biometrics
Rep. Ro Khanna said Congress should dictate exactly how federal agencies use technologies like facial recognition. But first, the legislative body needs to get properly educated.
Cybersecurity
Lawmaker pushes online verification to combat disinformation
Mandatory ID checks for social media platforms could help fight propaganda, but experts worry about privacy tradeoffs.
Emerging Tech
Justice to Require DNA Sampling of Nearly All Detained Migrants
Once collected, the samples will be moved into the FBI’s massive DNA database.
Policy
Privacy Bill Could Put Dishonest Tech Execs Behind Bars
The Mind Your Own Business Act would expand FTC authorities and introduce comprehensive new protections for consumers’ personal data.
Cybersecurity
VA Exposes Sensitive Veteran Data to Thousands of Unauthorized Employees
The files included medical records, internal communications and other sensitive information dating back to 2016, the inspector general found.
Emerging Tech
Lawmaker: TSA Should Halt Facial Recognition Programs Absent Formal Policies
The agency said it is working on those policies while the technology is tested through pilot programs.
Ideas
Teaching Those We Love About the Importance of Cybersecurity
How much do you really tell your kids about online safety?
Emerging Tech
Border Patrol Agents Might Get Body Cameras to Record Interactions With the Public
The agency is also interested in learning how body cameras could be integrated with its facial recognition program.
Emerging Tech
The Endless Aerial Surveillance of the Border
New reports suggest that drone activity at the southern border is spreading to nearby cities, erasing the line between police procedures and immigration enforcement.
Modernization
Legacy Systems Held DHS' Biometrics Programs Back. Not Anymore.
The cloud-based HART system, which will house data on hundreds of millions of people, promises to significantly expand the department’s use of facial recognition and other biometric software, as well as its partnerships with external agencies.
Emerging Tech
A Federal Privacy Board Is Reviewing DHS’ Airport Facial Recognition Programs
An agency shared new details around its recent observations of one TSA biometrics pilot—and what it aims to assess in a comprehensive report it’s generating over the course of the next year.
Digital Government
Tech Companies Are Quietly Phasing Out a Major Privacy Safeguard
More and more companies are failing to issue transparency reports to tell consumers how much of their information governments have demanded.
Digital Government
The World Wants Less Tech. Amazon Gives It More.
The world’s largest online retailer is diving headfirst into the techlash.
Ideas