Andrew Blake

Russia risks U.S. sanctions over NotPetya cyberattack, election meddling: Report

The Trump administration may sanction Russia in part over NotPetya, a suspected state-sponsored cyberattack that infected Ukrainian computers last June before spreading to systems in the U.S. and abroad, senior officials told Reuters.

February 22, 2018

State Department sued over Mar-a-Lago records

The State Department was sued Wednesday for withholding documents detailing the process that preceded its publication of an article touting President Trump's privately-owned Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

February 22, 2018

Malware infection poised to cost $1 million to Allentown, Pa.: Mayor

Allentown, Pennsylvania, is expected to spend $1 million as it reels from a recent malware infection that has caused the city to stop operating certain computer systems, its mayor said Tuesday.

February 21, 2018

New York man pleads guilty to threatening congressman over net neutrality

Federal prosecutors have obtained a guilty plea from Patrick Angelo, a 28-year-old New York state resident who admittedly threatened to kill his congressman and his family unless the lawmaker supported net neutrality.

February 21, 2018

Benjamin Kelly, aide to Florida lawmaker, fired over calling Parkland shooting survivors ‘actors’

Benjamin Kelly, an aide to Florida state Rep. Shawn Harrison, Tampa Republican, was fired Tuesday after falsely claiming that two students who survived last week's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are actors who travel from tragedy to tragedy.

February 21, 2018

DOJ announces ‘cyber-digital task force’ to tackle election interference, protect infrastructure

The Department of Justice will convene an agency-wide task force to study how adversaries may use the internet to interfere in U.S. elections and attack critical infrastructure, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday.

February 21, 2018

Donald Trump Jr. called ‘disgusting’ by school shooting survivor for liking conspiracy theory tweets

School shooting survivor David Hogg has decried Donald Trump Jr. for having "liked" a pair of tweets questioning his motives for wanting gun reform following last week's massacre in Parkland, Florida.

February 21, 2018

Russian election chief warns of ‘fake news’ targeting upcoming Kremlin race

Russia's top election official has warned of "fake news" being used to discredit next month's Kremlin race.

February 20, 2018

North Korean hacking group ramps up operations with international attacks: Report

Hackers previously connected to attacks primarily targeting South Korea have expanded their operations to include campaigns against industries in Asia and the Middle East, security researchers warned in a report Tuesday.

February 20, 2018

George Clooney, Amal Clooney pledge $500,000 toward ‘March for Our Lives’ anti-gun violence protest

George Clooney on Tuesday said that he and his wife are donating $500,000 toward March for Our Lives, an anti-gun violence demonstration in D.C. being organized by survivors of last week's school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

February 20, 2018

Donald Trump Jr. ‘likes’ tweets smearing Florida school shooting survivor

Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday "liked" a pair of tweets touting a conspiracy theory smearing David Hogg, a 17-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School senior who pleaded for gun control in the wake of surviving last week's rampage in Parkland, Florida.

February 20, 2018

Rob Goldman, Facebook exec, apologizes for Russian meddling tweets cited by Trump: Report

Facebook's vice president of advertising has apologized to colleagues for his comments about Russian election meddling that were retweeted by President Trump over the weekend, Wired reported.

February 20, 2018

Oriyomi Sadiq Aloba, hacking suspect, indicted over attack on Los Angeles County Superior Court

The Department of Justice has announced federal hacking charges against Oriyomi Sadiq Aloba, a Texas resident accused of sending millions of malicious phishing emails facilitated by breaching the Los Angeles County Superior Court (LASC) computer system.

February 17, 2018

Mohamed Rafik Naji, Brooklyn man, admits attempting to aid ISIS

Mohamed Rafik Naji, a Yemen-born New York City resident, pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to one count of attempting to provide support to the Islamic State terror group, also known as ISIS.

February 17, 2018

Andrew Oswalt, ‘alt-right’ member of Oregon State student government, ousted after arrest

Andrew Oswalt, an Oregon State University PhD candidate facing charges for allegedly placing racist bumper stickers on the cars of local activists, is slated to be booted from the school's student government, resolving weeks of uproar spurred by a controversial profile published in the campus newspaper hours before his arrest last month.

February 17, 2018

Russian disinformation made fodder for pro-Trump blog Gateway Pundit: Indictment

The Gateway Pundit, a right-wing website that touted President Trump during his 2016 campaign, ran an unsubstantiated report alleging voter fraud during the race fueled by Russian agitprop referenced in a federal indictment unsealed by special counsel Robert Mueller's office Friday.

February 17, 2018

Nikolas Cruz, suspected Parkland shooter, espoused racism in chats; bragged of writing Trump: Report

Confessed school shooter Nikolas Cruz repeatedly ranted against minorities and once bragged of writing to President Trump, according to private Instagram messages obtained following Wednesday's massacre in Parkland, Florida.

February 17, 2018

Russian Twitter accounts echoed shooting-related messages after Parkland massacre: Report

Twitter accounts tied to Russian influence operations propagated shooting-related messages in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, intervening in the ongoing gun control debate amid renewed concerns involving Moscow's meddling in U.S. domestic matters.

February 16, 2018

FedEx customer records exposed by unsecured database

FedEx has confirmed a security breach that exposed about 119,000 scanned documents containing the private information of customers, including passports and driver's licenses, according to researchers.

February 16, 2018

Bipartisan bill introduced in House to restore Obama-era marijuana protections

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House would effectively restore Obama-era marijuana protections recently rescinded by President Trump's attorney general, Jeff Sessions.

February 16, 2018