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In July, Independence, Mo., invested $4 million to upgrade its outdated computer network with increased security. Despite the effort, the city has suffered a major outage from ransomware.
Before COVID-19 swept the globe, experts were already predicting a disastrous year in cybersecurity. The pandemic offered hackers new attack vectors and proved governments must always be ready for the unexpected.
A new study reveals that 62 percent of local companies expect to see artificial intelligence work expand in the next year, giving the city a step up in the fast-growing tech sector.
Limited supplies of the coronavirus vaccine in the coming weeks could contribute to attempts by imposters to sell counterfeit versions of approved versions. And the risk isn’t likely to go away anytime soon.
While the Trump White House has done some good things, the president-elect has shown genuine interest in the issue, and more federal resources are becoming available.
The Health Department claims a former employee, Rebekah Jones, “hacked” their system to send messages encouraging others to speak up about the state’s COVID response. Jones filed a COVID whistleblower complaint in May.
Just before Thanksgiving, Baltimore County Public Schools were hit by a ransomware attack, worrying school districts across the state. But state audits have routinely found vulnerabilities officials ignored.
The Madison City Council voted to ban its city agencies from using facial recognition technology or information gathered from facial surveillance. The ban extends to the city’s police department.
The incoming administration could mean significant changes for technology, especially where federal cybersecurity is concerned. The increased attention will no doubt mean big changes for state and local governments as well.
Krebs, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was removed from his position after disputing President Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Despite fears of some sort of cybersecurity apocalypse during this year's presidential election, federal officials say 2020 had no meaningful interference by foreign adversaries. Other issues, however, have held fast.
The police department has prohibited officers and detectives from using any facial recognition software that isn’t the county’s official platform, which only uses criminal booking photographs.
After years of denial, NOPD has confirmed the use of the technology. Officials have remained vague on details, including the specific software, the frequency of use and how long the tech has been used.
Many officials in the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are stepping down or expect to be fired as President Trump challenges the election’s results with claims of voting fraud.
Getting away from our continuing reliance on legacy technology and moving toward a centralized organizational model would improve security organizations' ability to meet today's threats.
There has been a 111 percent increase in drive-by shootings that the city hopes to reduce in a pilot program to identify violent crime offenders. But privacy advocates have concerns about the plate-reading technology.
Two of the state’s voting systems connect to the Internet, making them accessible for voters who are stationed overseas but also increasing the risk of cyberattacks and data breaches that could result in fraud.
Ensuring a secure election doesn’t just include collecting safe and honest votes — it extends into ensuring that ballot tallying is completed and reported without any attacks or interferences.
Due to financial constraints, a handful of states are still using paperless voting machines, considered by cybersecurity professionals to be the most insecure and most vulnerable to hacking.
The police department received a unanimous approval to record and store aerial footage of large gatherings, including protests. But many civil rights groups align the decision with unconstitutional government surveillance.
San Francisco and Alameda counties have ended their COVID-19 testing program with Google’s sister company, Verily, over patient privacy concerns. The program was intended to increase testing in low-income neighborhoods.
With doubts and mistrust about election day results mounting, attention has turned to the state’s new electronic voting system, which is considered vulnerable to cyberattacks that could undermine public confidence.
Government officials have confirmed that Iran and Russia have obtained some voter registration information and that the threatening emails sent to voters in Florida and other states may have come from Iran.
There is much that they can do to support what state and local election officials are doing to counter efforts by those who would weaken our democratic institutions through distrust and suspicion.
Proposition 24 would expand on the state’s existing consumer privacy law, and it would create a dedicated state agency to enforce those online protections. But not all user privacy advocates support the ballot measure.
The city is purchasing software that will produce real-time images of crimes for the police headquarters, but officials have explicitly said the software does not include facial recognition technology.
Bracing for a potential swell in foreign interference, the Centennial State has brought on a new team of national security experts to monitor and mitigate potential threats against county election systems.
As cybercrime has increased during the coronavirus pandemic, more and more local school districts are under cyberattack. Experts say there are two main reasons why hackers are focusing on the local schools.
State government unemployment systems are under attack from fraudulent applications, as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programs nationwide are being targeted by cybercriminals. And the situation is only getting worse.
Civil rights activists filed the lawsuit against the city for allegedly tapping into over 400 privately owned surveillance cameras to track the protests over police brutality earlier this year.
