Grant Gross
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Grant Gross
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3 nightmare election hack scenarios
The question on the mind of many voting security experts is not whether hackers could disrupt a U.S. election. Instead, they wonder how likely an election hack might be and how it might happen. The good news is a hack that changes the outcome of a U.S. presidential election would be difficult, although not impossible. First of all, there are technology challenges -- more than 20 voting technologies are used across the country, including a half dozen electronic voting machine models and several optical scanners, in addition to hand-counted paper ballots. But the major difficulty of hacking an election is less a technological challenge than an organizational one, with hackers needing to marshal and manage the resources needed to pull it off, election security experts say. And a handful of conditions would need to fall into place for an election hack to work.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Trump calls for US to use offensive cyberweapons
The U.S. government needs to be ready to use its offensive cyberweapons in response to attacks from other nations, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Monday.The U.S. has significant offensive cybercapabilities, but it has been shy about deploying them, Trump said during a speech in Herdon, Virginia. "This is the warfare of the future," he said. The U.S. should also increase its use of cyberweapons to attack terrorists, Trump said. President Barack Obama has failed to protect the nation's cybersecurity and a new focus is needed, added Trump, who has largely avoided technology issues in his campaign. Trump said he will create an international cybersecurity task force to battle hackers, and he will ask U.S. military leaders for suggestions on how to improve the nation's cyberdefenses. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Trump calls for US to use offensive cyberweapons
The U.S. government needs to be ready to use its offensive cyberweapons in response to attacks from other nations, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Monday.The U.S. has significant offensive cybercapabilities, but it has been shy about deploying them, Trump said during a speech in Herdon, Virginia. "This is the warfare of the future," he said. The U.S. should also increase its use of cyberweapons to attack terrorists, Trump said. President Barack Obama has failed to protect the nation's cybersecurity and a new focus is needed, added Trump, who has largely avoided technology issues in his campaign. Trump said he will create an international cybersecurity task force to battle hackers, and he will ask U.S. military leaders for suggestions on how to improve the nation's cyberdefenses. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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ICANN transition moves forward, despite last-minute attempt to block it
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the long-time coordinator of the internet's Domain Name System, is independent of U.S. government oversight, at least for now.The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration's planned turnover of ICANN oversight to the wider internet community happened early Saturday morning, despite a last-ditch lawsuit filed by four state attorneys general attempting to block the move.Late Friday, a judge in Texas refused to issue an injunction that would have forced the NTIA to retain its oversight of ICANN's coordination of the Domain Name System root and IP addressing functions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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ICANN transition moves forward, despite last-minute attempt to block it
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the long-time coordinator of the internet's Domain Name System, is independent of U.S. government oversight, at least for now.The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration's planned turnover of ICANN oversight to the wider internet community happened early Saturday morning, despite a last-ditch lawsuit filed by four state attorneys general attempting to block the move.Late Friday, a judge in Texas refused to issue an injunction that would have forced the NTIA to retain its oversight of ICANN's coordination of the Domain Name System root and IP addressing functions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Privacy groups urge US FTC to investigate WhatsApp promises
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission should stop mobile messaging service WhatsApp from sharing user data with parent company Facebook in violation of earlier privacy promises, several privacy groups said.The FTC should step in to stop WhatsApp from violating "commitments the company previously made to subscribers," the 17 groups said in a letter sent to the agency Thursday. WhatsApp has long billed itself as a secure and private messaging service. WhatsApp's recently released plan to share user data with Facebook as a way to target advertising could amount to an "unfair and deceptive" trade practice, said the groups, including the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Watchdog, and Demand Progress.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Privacy groups urge US FTC to investigate WhatsApp promises
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission should stop mobile messaging service WhatsApp from sharing user data with parent company Facebook in violation of earlier privacy promises, several privacy groups said.The FTC should step in to stop WhatsApp from violating "commitments the company previously made to subscribers," the 17 groups said in a letter sent to the agency Thursday. WhatsApp has long billed itself as a secure and private messaging service. WhatsApp's recently released plan to share user data with Facebook as a way to target advertising could amount to an "unfair and deceptive" trade practice, said the groups, including the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Action, Consumer Watchdog, and Demand Progress.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Stanford researchers invent tech workaround to net neutrality fights
Engineers at Stanford University have invented a new technology that would give broadband customers more control over their pipes and, they say, possibly put an end to a stale net neutrality debate in the U.S.The new technology, called Network Cookies, would allow broadband customers to decide which parts of their network traffic get priority delivery and which parts are less time sensitive. A broadband customer could then decide video from Netflix should get preferential treatment over email messages, for example.The technology could put an end to the current net neutrality debate focused on whether broadband providers are allowed to prioritize some network traffic and block or degrade other traffic, said the researchers, Professors Nick McKeown and Sachin Katti and electrical engineering grad student Yiannis Yiakoumis.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Stanford researchers invent tech workaround to net neutrality fights
Engineers at Stanford University have invented a new technology that would give broadband customers more control over their pipes and, they say, possibly put an end to a stale net neutrality debate in the U.S.The new technology, called Network Cookies, would allow broadband customers to decide which parts of their network traffic get priority delivery and which parts are less time sensitive. A broadband customer could then decide video from Netflix should get preferential treatment over email messages, for example.The technology could put an end to the current net neutrality debate focused on whether broadband providers are allowed to prioritize some network traffic and block or degrade other traffic, said the researchers, Professors Nick McKeown and Sachin Katti and electrical engineering grad student Yiannis Yiakoumis.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Tech leaders, activists call for Obama to pardon Snowden
Tech luminaries Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, and Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, have joined a new campaign pushing for a pardon of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.Other supporters of the PardonSnowden.org campaign, launched Wednesday, are Harvard law professor and tech policy author Lawrence Lessig; tech investor Esther Dyson; noted cryptographer and MIT professor Ron Rivest; and Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder John Perry Barlow.The campaign, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, asks supporters to sign a letter asking President Barack Obama to pardon the former NSA contractor. "Snowden’s actions ... set in motion the most important debate about government surveillance in decades, and brought about reforms that continue to benefit our security and democracy," the letter says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Tech leaders, activists call for Obama to pardon Snowden
Tech luminaries Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, and Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, have joined a new campaign pushing for a pardon of National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.Other supporters of the PardonSnowden.org campaign, launched Wednesday, are Harvard law professor and tech policy author Lawrence Lessig; tech investor Esther Dyson; noted cryptographer and MIT professor Ron Rivest; and Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder John Perry Barlow.The campaign, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, asks supporters to sign a letter asking President Barack Obama to pardon the former NSA contractor. "Snowden’s actions ... set in motion the most important debate about government surveillance in decades, and brought about reforms that continue to benefit our security and democracy," the letter says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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OpenText to buy Dell EMC’s enterprise content division
Canadian enterprise information management vendor OpenText has agreed to buy Dell Technologies' EMC enterprise content division for $1.62 billion in a deal that, the companies say, will allow them to focus on their core missions. The acquisition of the "highly profitable" Dell EMC Enterprise Content Division will allow OpenText to expand its related services to Asia and Africa and across a larger customer base, including the healthcare and oil production industries, said OpenText CEO and CTO Mark Barrenechea. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Tech companies want ICANN transition to happen as planned
The U.S. government's plan to end its oversight of the internet's domain name system should move forward as promised, despite last-minute efforts by some Republican lawmakers to derail the process, a coalition of tech companies and trade groups said.The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) should end its supervision of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on Oct. 1 as planned, said a letter signed by Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Amazon and more than 20 other companies and trade groups.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Tech companies want ICANN transition to happen as planned
The U.S. government's plan to end its oversight of the internet's domain name system should move forward as promised, despite last-minute efforts by some Republican lawmakers to derail the process, a coalition of tech companies and trade groups said.The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) should end its supervision of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on Oct. 1 as planned, said a letter signed by Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Amazon and more than 20 other companies and trade groups.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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OpenText to buy Dell EMC’s enterprise content division
Canadian enterprise information management vendor OpenText has agreed to buy Dell Technologies' EMC enterprise content division for US$1.62 billion in a deal that, the companies say, will allow them to focus on their core missions.The acquisition of the "highly profitable" Dell EMC Enterprise Content Division will allow OpenText to expand its related services to Asia and Africa and across a larger customer base, including the healthcare and oil production industries, said OpenText CEO and CTO Mark Barrenechea. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Google gets API management tools in Apigee deal
Google plans to acquire API management vendor Apigee in a US$625 million deal that will give the search giant secure and multilanguage API tools used by companies bringing more and more of their services online.The deal, announced Thursday, gives Google access to tools that allow company back-end systems to communicate with mobile and web apps, Diane Greene, senior vice president of Google's cloud business, said in a blog post.APIs are "vital for how business gets done today in the fast-growing digital and mobile marketplace," she wrote. "They're the hubs through which companies, partners, and customers interact, whether it's a small business applying online for a loan or a point of sale system sending your warranty information to the manufacturer."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US must beef up its cyber muscle, Trump says
The U.S. Department of Defense must pump up its cyber capabilities, including its offense, as part of a huge planned expansion of the military, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday.Trump, repeatedly criticized in the IT community for a lack of a tech policy agenda, called for new investments in cybersecurity during a speech focused on military programs. The businessman didn't put a dollar figure on the new cybersecurity investments but mentioned them as part of a proposed multibillion-dollar expansion of the U.S. military.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US must beef up its cyber muscle, Trump says
The U.S. Department of Defense must pump up its cyber capabilities, including its offense, as part of a huge planned expansion of the military, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday.Trump, repeatedly criticized in the IT community for a lack of a tech policy agenda, called for new investments in cybersecurity during a speech focused on military programs. The businessman didn't put a dollar figure on the new cybersecurity investments but mentioned them as part of a proposed multibillion-dollar expansion of the U.S. military.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US investigates Russia for attempting to hack the election
Intelligence and law enforcement agencies are reportedly investigating whether Russia has launched a broad, covert operation to disrupt the U.S. elections in November.Officials believe that Russia appears to be attempting to spread disinformation and hack into U.S. political systems in an effort to undermine confidence in the upcoming election, according to a report in the Washington Post. Investigators do not have "definitive" proof of a Russian operation, but there is "significant concern," the Post quoted an anonymous senior intelligence official as saying.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US investigates Russia for attempting to hack the election
Intelligence and law enforcement agencies are reportedly investigating whether Russia has launched a broad, covert operation to disrupt the U.S. elections in November.Officials believe that Russia appears to be attempting to spread disinformation and hack into U.S. political systems in an effort to undermine confidence in the upcoming election, according to a report in the Washington Post. Investigators do not have "definitive" proof of a Russian operation, but there is "significant concern," the Post quoted an anonymous senior intelligence official as saying.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here