Homeland & Cybersecurity
The latest coverage of the Department of Homeland Security and cyber threats around the globe.
Trump to sign order blocking states from regulating artificial intelligence
President Trump said on Monday that he will sign an executive order this week to block states from regulating artificial intelligence and establish federal guidelines that would dictate the nation’s artificial intelligence policy.
‘Ticking time bomb’: How dangers lurked in Afghan evacuee population
Tucked inside the tens of thousands of Afghans airlifted out of Kabul in 2021 were some ticking time bombs. Suddenly, they are starting to explode.
Homeland Security Secretary Noem: All vetting of Guard shooting suspect took place under Biden
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday the Biden administration is squarely to blame for any vetting failures that occurred in resettling the Afghan refugee accused of shooting two National Guardsmen in Washington before Thanksgiving.
Homeland Security suspends processing for Afghans, will review all green cards from 19 countries
The Homeland Security Department announced strict new vetting of immigrants on Thursday, blaming a weak immigration system in the wake of this week’s attack on National Guard soldiers in the nation’s capital allegedly by an Afghan immigrant.
Virginia brothers plotted to kill ICE agents, Homeland Security says
Two brothers in Virginia have been arrested after an off-duty police officer overheard the men allegedly discussing plans to kill immigration officers, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.
Illegal immigrant pleads guilty to stealing Kristi Noem’s purse in D.C.
An illegal immigrant from Chile has pleaded guilty to stealing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse and now faces possible deportation.
Noem gave final approval to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador despite judge’s orders
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the final decision to deport Venezuelan gang suspects to El Salvador in March despite a judge’s order instructing the government to recall the airplanes, the Justice Department revealed in court.
Move over, Santa: AI elves have taken over the hunt for perfect gifts
Digital elves are fast replacing Santa’s helpers when people buy holiday gifts, according to marketing experts who say AI companions have become the preferred way to hunt for deals.
Alibaba’s cloud business revenue soars 34% driven by AI boom
China’s Alibaba Group posted a 34% jump in revenue from its cloud business in its most recent quarter, buoyed by the boom in artificial intelligence.
MrBeast and the Rockefeller Foundation team up to spark youth philanthropy and fight child labor
One of the most storied American philanthropies is teaming up with the internet’s biggest creator to instill young people with a concern for what they call the world’s “most vulnerable” populations.
Big changes to the agency charged with securing elections lead to midterm worries
Since it was created in 2018, the federal government’s cybersecurity agency has helped warn state and local election officials about potential threats from foreign governments, showed officials how to protect polling places from attacks and gamed out how to respond to the unexpected, such as an Election Day bomb threat or sudden disinformation campaign
Obama aide Larry Summers resigns from OpenAI board after his name surfaces in Epstein files
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers is stepping down from the board of directors of the OpenAI Foundation, the latest development in a saga that began with emails released between him and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Got internet? Issues at Cloudflare are blocking access to X, ChatGPT and more
Many internet users woke up Tuesday morning and logged onto social media, video games or news sites, only to see an error message.
ICE arrests illegal immigrant ‘wanted terrorist’ who was working as truck driver in U.S.
Homeland Security said Monday it has arrested an illegal immigrant from Uzbekistan who was allowed into the U.S. during the Biden administration and earned a driver’s license in Pennsylvania, even though he is wanted as a terrorist in his home country.
Judge threatens DHS program that lets states scrub noncitizens from voter lists
A federal judge on Monday questioned the legality of allowing states to check their voting lists against Homeland Security’s citizenship database, but ruled that she can’t shut the program down — yet.
Kristi Noem gives some TSA agents $10,000 bonuses for working during shutdown
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem handed out $10,000 bonus checks Thursday to some TSA officers who “served with exemplary service” during the government shutdown.
EU investigates Google over concerns content is unfairly demoted in search results
European Union regulators said Thursday they’re investigating whether Google is unfairly demoting some content from media publishers in search results under a policy the company says is aimed at combating scammers.
Multimedia
Document: Cybersecurity 2018: Online Security and Safety in Government, Industry and Civil Society
Download the Special Report available in the January 29, 2018, edition of The Washington Times. (3.8 MB)
