Security
There’s not much research on getting a new program in place, but police chiefs who have been there have a lot of ideas about what to do — and what not to do.
In response to reports detailing AI tech's disproportionate effect on communities of color, Washington state Sen. Bob Hasegawa introduced a bill to ban AI tech and regulate automated decision systems.
Cyberattacks increased 214 percent globally in 2020, compared to the year prior, according to a new report. Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Vietnam were the major sources of attacks against the health-care sector.
QR code use is growing as a convenient input mechanism to make mobile transactions more efficient. But Qshing, or QR code abuse, is also becoming a cyberthreat.
In nine states, some jurisdictions have allowed voting via computer or app.
An October cyberattack on Chatham County’s computer network tried to extort $2.4 million, but the North Carolina county refused to pay. An investigation found the hackers posted personal data for sale on the “dark Web.”
Several major hospital systems across the country will aggregate the data and make it available to researchers, other health-care companies through an app, called Truveta. Many have legal and privacy concerns, however.
Washington state has been the victim of massive unemployment fraud and a data breach that exposed 1 million people’s personal data. Lawmakers want to improve cybersecurity and data sharing to prevent future cyberattacks.
The state is paying San Diego prison guards to wear body cameras in an attempt to increase transparency about the treatment of disabled inmates. The facility will also install a surveillance system.
A cyberattack on Oldsmar’s treatment system tried to increase the amount of lye in the water, but it was caught before damage was done. The county has disabled remote access to the system and is investigating the attack.
Data loss from a 2019 ransomware attack on the New York county could result in the dismissal of some criminal cases. The district attorney claims he didn’t learn of the loss until 18 months after the attack.
The AI-driven technology has been helping officials identify those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, but it also has been found to have racial biases. Officials must balance the potential benefits with the risks.
Speakers at the recent Micromobility World conference debated the future of smart city tech and whether it’s actually been improving urban mobility, or simply facilitating a growth of the surveillance state.
Supply chains are the backbone of the public and private sector. The digital components of these complex systems are at increasing risk of being disrupted, degraded or destroyed.
The state has installed improved technology that it hopes will help stop thousands of fraudulent unemployment benefits claims from flooding the system. The new tech blocked 576,000 fraudulent login attempts in one day.
Already flooded with fraudulent claims, the state’s unemployment agency now must mitigate a data breach that compromised social security numbers, employment data and bank account information for about 1.4 million people.
Miami County, Ohio, launched an investigation after it found a hidden surveillance camera in the wall of a county office building. While many are denying prior knowledge of the camera, two officials have resigned since the finding.
Researchers at the University of Washington have found that Amazon’s search algorithms boost books and products that promote misinformation about COVID vaccines and general health.
As the COVID-19 pandemic grabbed 2020 headlines, the list of data breaches in government and the private sector quietly grew. And then came SolarWinds. What’s next?
The Legal Aid Society has denounced the district attorney’s use of Clearview AI, the surveillance database, and has demanded the D.A. disclose how his office has used and is using the technology.
Top state police officials have downloaded encryption applications on their state-issued phones which keep no record of deleted text messages. Some are concerned that these practices break the Freedom of Information Act.
Butler County is bolstering cybersecurity for its IT systems after the sheriff’s department was hit by a malware attack over the holidays. Officials say no sensitive information was compromised.
Legislative IT officials must be prepared for both in-person and remote attacks, cybersecurity experts say. Laptops and other electronic devices should be locked or secured and hard drives encrypted.
The Austin-based software company at the center of the data breach that impacted hundreds of companies, including several government agencies, continues to find pieces of malware that may have led to the hack.
A confluence of social and political pressures is making a comprehensive federal privacy law seem inevitable. The incoming Biden administration could help ensure legislation heads in the right direction.
The focus has been on the attack's impact on federal agencies and the private sector, but state and local governments need to inventory their vulnerabilities and prepare for a long recovery.
An alleged hack of federal agencies by Russian operators could precipitate more widespread concern for supply chain cybersecurity — a silver lining to a scandal that continues to get bigger, uglier and more complicated.
Despite Trump’s continued downplaying of the massive cyberattack, several experts and senators are speaking up to warn of its severity and the worrisome response from the president.
Pasadena and Long Beach, Calif., police have been adamant that their license plate data would not be sent to ICE, but now records suggest that they are sending the info directly to Homeland Security Investigations.
New records reveal that the New Orleans Police Department has been partnering with state police to use facial recognition software since, at least, 2018. The city did not admit use of the technology until last month.
The voting equipment company assured Michigan lawmakers that the many conspiracy theories surrounding the election night error in Antrim County were baseless, dangerous disinformation.
