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.
These false websites have been prevalent since 2016 but an investigation found that the number of these fakes has tripled in 2020. And local news is a perfect place for disinformation due to greater levels of trust.
Colorado is just one of many states that have had an immense number of unemployment claims to process due to COVID-19. However, the increased amount of fraud reveals that there are holes in identity security.
Outsourcing government IT services to a number of smaller companies, rather than the monolithic contracts of the past, has become common practice, but ensuring all those contractors are secure is an ongoing challenge.
The City Council approved a nearly $200,000 facial recognition contract that will run through September 2022 but many see the tech as racist, discriminating for the sake of efficiency and they question its accuracy.
A new Rand report explores ideas and practices used by Russia and other hostile states to sow doubts about the election. The insights could help state and local government better understand and respond to the problem.
Lawmakers and experts warn that the combination of a pandemic, increased numbers of mail-in ballots and a heightened racial tension across the state have created the perfect place for election disinformation to grow.
The DMV and at least 80 other agencies across the state use facial recognition technology and investigators say it's an invaluable crime fighting tool. But civil rights advocates say the tech does more harm than good.
The city’s police received information on a gun case suspect from another law enforcement agency that used facial recognition to identify the person. The technology has been banned from use since May 2019.
New investigative tools may help average law enforcement agencies more effectively track criminal activity made profitable through cryptocurrency. This includes ransomware schemes and other popular hacks.
Georgia’s Cyber Crime Center helps protect against everything from ransomware attacks to cyberbullying. Last year Georgia lost $500 million to cybercrime, “and only one-seventh of cybercrime is reported.”
In many ways, our digital infrastructure was unprepared for the pandemic's challenges. Now is the time for a longer-term cybersecurity vision.
With many companies working remotely and relying more heavily on computer networks to run operations, cyberdisruptions and attacks have increased. Manufacturing has been particularly hard hit.
Health officials are encouraging Angelenos to download the contact tracing app, SafePass, which is from the same makers of a controversial safety-alert app, Vigilante, later renamed Citizen.
Of all the cyberattacks that affect state and local governments, ransomware is one of the most ubiquitous and costly. Now security researchers fear it could also become a political weapon in the upcoming election.
Experts predict cyberattacks against school systems will continue to increase as students return for the fall semester. More investments in cybersecurity is the only way to prevent future breaches.
Schools and colleges are relying on technology more than ever to deliver learning during the pandemic. Criminals are ready to exploit vulnerabilities with ransomware and other tactics. Help is needed, say experts.
In the first two days of digital instruction, Miami-Dade County Public Schools suffered from software malfunctions and a cyberattack against the school district that impeded access for thousands of teachers and students.
A cyberattack on SEPTA, the city’s transit authority, may have exposed personal information for 9,300 employees, including Social Security numbers and banking information. Officials have known about the attack for weeks.
With employees now working remotely and an increase in cyberattacks, keeping sensitive data secure has become more difficult, especially for data on legacy systems, which lawmakers want modernized.
In addition to managing unprecedented unemployment numbers, states have to avoid processing thousands of fraudulent benefits claims. Sorting it all out takes time, only further delaying relief for legitimate claimants.
The police department in Pennsylvania has worked to balance legal requirements and moral imperatives of public demands for more transparent policing. Some believe more data will help build trust, but not everyone agrees.
Elected officials, agency heads and other government leaders need to understand their organizations' challenges and issues. It's the key to establishing a shared culture of security in a public organization.
As protests shine light on racial inequities in the U.S., tech firms that serve law enforcement are evaluating ways to avoid creating, rather than solving, problems — and at least one has pledged not to support policing.
Many people who participate in disinformation campaigns are unwitting accomplices and much of the information they spread is accurate, which makes it all the harder to identify the campaigns.
New Jersey’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday that lawfully issued search warrants can call for defendants to turn over their phone’s passcode. But critics say the ruling infringes on privacy rights.
Silicon Valley was going to help America keep track of COVID-19 with badly needed technology. Yet, states never embraced the idea, and tech firms couldn’t overcome privacy concerns. But the idea is getting a reboot.
After months of delay, the Portland city council voted unanimously to ban use of facial recognition technology. The ordinance will begin in 30 days. The police say they have no intention of using it.
The fired former director of the unemployment office told lawmakers officials did nothing about a data breach that allowed some people who logged onto the system to see other people’s sensitive information for at least a day.
The week in cybersecurity includes news about a surge in COVID-related hacking attacks on government and colleges and how facial recognition technology is losing ground as demands rise for police reform.
The police did not divulge the loss of 269 gigabytes worth of information taken from a consortium of intelligence gathering centers. Many are wondering what this says about the cybersecurity of law enforcement data.
