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.
Four cities in the region have proposed using millions of pandemic relief funds for surveillance cameras to aid law enforcement and increase public safety. But there are concerns about the privacy risks.
Cities are looking to ensure privacy is considered when weighing surveillance technology procurements and data handling procedures. Oakland, Calif., introduced a privacy advisory commission, but it’s not the only model at play.
The Louisiana city’s police department wants to deploy nine license plate readers to help identify stolen cars and drivers with outstanding warrants. But critics worry about the tech’s infringement on privacy rights.
Federal lawmakers are asking how to better help the critical infrastructure sector defend against cyber threats. The answer may involve tailored, actionable intelligence and minimum cybersecurity requirements.
A New York state audit found that the school district’s decision to award a contract for a now-illegal facial recognition security system without competitive bidding was legal, despite its lack of transparency.
Similar past bills that would have allowed greater control over the collection, sale and storage of personal data did not advance as far as this proposed bill. The legislative session closes on May 4.
Officials reported that the county paid out $447,372 in a series of nine payments to a fraud scheme claiming to be an approved county vendor in late 2019. The county’s net loss was more than $216,000.
Without any documented potential crime or policies with instructions, officers collected and stored personal data and social media posts about demonstrators who participated in the 2020 racial justice protests.
As tensions between the U.S. and Russia mount, Cyberspace Solarium Commission members and critical infrastructure owners discussed the work ahead to collaborate more effectively on cyber defense.
Eight jurisdictions say they have either approved or installed automatic license plate readers, nine reported having no plans to consider the devices and three are still undecided.
As the risk of cyber attacks increases amid the Russian war on Ukraine, many companies are finding that filling open cybersecurity positions is not easy; job openings have increased 29 percent since last year.
Two platforms are offering another layer of security in the voting process; one offers voters real-time alerts if registration information changes, while another flags unusual patterns of record updates for election officials.
The Alabama city voted unanimously to install cameras to support ShotSpotter, an auditory gunshot detection technology, which has raised concerns about potential governmental monitoring and data collection.
Recommendations issued to the state Legislature include banning the technology from being used for live surveillance and that local police be prevented from using it unless explicitly allowed to do so by law.
An annual report from the K12 Security Information Exchange says ransomware has surpassed data breach attacks as the largest category of cyber attacks on schools, often coming from sophisticated criminals overseas.
Congress is considering a flurry of proposed revisions to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, but some experts say reforms must be nuanced and carefully researched to avoid unintended consequences.
To combat mental health disorders among teenagers, the Legislature’s Children’s Committee gave unanimous approval to a bill that would require parental consent for children less than 16 years old to engage in social media.
The California city was victim to a larger scheme that targeted several municipalities across the nation, but some wonder why city officials waited two years to provide information on the scam.
New mandated reporting of major cyber incidents for all owners and operators of U.S. critical infrastructure seems closer than ever, thanks to new bills that are supported by the White House.
The police department does not currently have a timeline for implementing the technology. The process has been delayed by discussions over privacy and public access to the footage.
A growing number of county clerks and election officials across the state are being tested by groups that question the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, a situation that is “extremely problematic.”
U.S. organizations should up their defenses for the possibility of a Russian cyber attack or misinformation campaign, CISA says. Russian cyber strategies against Ukraine and its allies could evolve.
A surge in property title fraud has led several counties and cities to fund programs that notify residents if imposter paperwork gets filed against their deed. The increase in digitized records has contributed to the rise in fraud.
Multifactor authentication is a key part of zero-trust security, and a method promoted by the likes of CISA. It aims to block out hackers who — in this age of data breaches — manage to steal users’ passwords.
The department will dispose of all records and data collected from the now-defunct spy plane program. It is unclear if there are any criminal prosecutions using the collected data or when the police will begin the expunging.
There were 1,862 data breaches, exposures and leaks impacting 294 million people in 2021, 23.6 percent higher than the previous record of 1,506 set in 2017. Eighty-three percent of the compromises involved sensitive personal data.
Former Mayor Jenny Durkan’s phone settings were changed in July 2020 to delete texts after 30 days, and some texts with ex-Police Chief Carmen Best were periodically deleted.
An eye doctor from Cheektowaga, N.Y., filed a lawsuit when a cybersecurity company refused to cover his losses after someone hacked into his cryptocurrency account and stole $12 million.
With a high influx of COVID-related jobless claims, hackers found it easy to scam state unemployment benefit systems. But tracking down the illegitimate payments is a slow and frustrating process.
With $1 billion on the way from the new infrastructure law, state cybersecurity planning committees will need to be creative to fairly and uniformly distribute funds across diverse government landscapes.
