Andrew Blake

Twitter alerts nearly 700,000 users exposed to Russian trolls during 2016 race

Twitter has begun notifying nearly 700,000 users who engaged with accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian "troll farm" accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as part of an alleged state-sponsored interference campaign.

January 20, 2018

Election security hearing sought by Democrats

Democratic members of the House Science Committee have called on Republican leadership to hold another hearing on security issues related to the nation's election infrastructure.

January 18, 2018

Most Gmail users ignore two-factor authentication, sacrificing security for convenience

Fewer than one in 10 active Gmail users have enabled two-factor authentication, a free security measure meant to protect accounts against unauthorized access, a Google software engineer revealed Wednesday.

January 18, 2018

Kaspersky Lab seeks injunction blocking DHS from banning Russian antivirus vendor

Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based software vendor accused of keeping close ties to the Russian government, has asked a D.C. federal court judge to block a Department of Homeland Security directive prohibiting U.S. agencies from using its products.

January 18, 2018

Facebook reconsiders Russia’s role in 2016 Brexit vote

Facebook is reconsidering whether Russian operatives exploited its platform to influence Britain's so-called "Brexit" referendum on leaving the European Union, Simon Milner, the social network's U.K. policy director, told a member of Parliament.

January 18, 2018

Twitter to notify users exposed to Russian troll accounts during 2016 race

Twitter plans to notify users who may have saw content tweeted during the 2016 U.S. presidential race by accounts connected to the Internet Research Agency, a St. Petersburg "troll farm" implicated in Russia's alleged election meddling.

January 18, 2018

Islamic State recruiter advised NYC resident on foiled terror plots: DOJ

Junaid Hussain, an Islamic State operative considered one of the terror group's top recruiters prior to being killed in an August 2015 airstrike, sent bomb-making instructions three months earlier to a New York City man who said he wanted to attack Times Square or the Statue of Liberty, federal prosecutors claimed in a recent court filing.

January 17, 2018

Brian Wilson gets grade changed on failed school assignment that became first Beach Boys hit

The Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson's alma matter has changed a failing grade he received in high school music class on a composition that became "Surfin'," his group's first single.

January 17, 2018

Phil Murphy, New Jersey’s incoming governor, looks toward legal marijuana in inaugural speech

New Jersey's incoming governor reiterated a campaign pledge to legalize marijuana during his inaugural address Tuesday, despite the federal government's recent rescinding of Obama-era pot protections.

January 17, 2018

Jeffrey Sterling, CIA leaker, released from prison

Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA employee convicted of leaking classified information about Iran's nuclear program to a New York Times reporter, has been released after serving most of a 3.5-year prison sentence.

January 17, 2018

AT&T urged to cut ties with Huawei, Chinese cellphone maker, over national security concerns: Report

National security concerns raised by Chinese tech firms including Huawei, one of the world's largest cellphone makers, have caused congress members to quietly pressure AT&T towards cutting ties with that company and others, Reuters reported Tuesday.

January 16, 2018

Terry McAuliffe, former Virginia governor, faults Charlottesville for ‘Unite the Right’ chaos

Charlottesville city officials should never have authorized protesters to rally around a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee last summer, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Monday in one of his first interviews since leaving office.

January 16, 2018

Adolf Hitler’s ‘Super Mercedes’ going up auction

A Mercedes-Benz custom-built for Adolf Hitler and used in Nazi parades during World War II is about to hit the auction block, with 10 percent of the winning bid going towards one of the world's largest Jewish human rights groups.

January 16, 2018

Cuomo cans ‘flawed’ pilot program that restricted books and packages for New York prisoners

The governor of New York has canceled a controversial pilot program that drastically limited the types of books and care packages that could be mailed to state prisoners.

January 13, 2018

Steven Seagal investigated by LAPD amid sexual misconduct claims

The Los Angeles Police Department has opened a sexual assault investigation involving actor and producer Steven Seagal, authorities said Friday.

January 13, 2018

Google Play purges dozens of games infected with pornographic malware from mobile app store

Google has removed dozens of games from its mobile app store after researchers revealed they contained malware that made phones display pornographic pop-up ads.

January 13, 2018

Emergency advisory warning of ballistic missile threat in Hawaii issued by mistake: Pentagon

An emergency alert warning Hawaii of a ballistic missile threat Saturday was issued by mistake, authorities said afterwards.

January 13, 2018

Daily Stormer publisher calls the Holocaust a ‘hoax’ in response to anti-Semitic harassment suit

The publisher of The Daily Stormer, a crude website rife with white nationalist and neo-Nazi commentary, shouldn't be held responsible for an anti-Semitic "troll storm" waged by his readers against a Jewish real estate agent because he believes the Holocaust was a "hoax," his attorney has claimed in a new court filing.

January 13, 2018

Donald Trump supporters disrupt speech by Sadiq Khan, London mayor

Protesters supporting President Trump disrupted a speech by London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Saturday and demanded his arrest.

January 13, 2018

Ben Sasse presses Jeff Sessions on cybersecurity after Senate hack report

A Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee has asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions for an update on the Trump administration's efforts to strengthen the nation's cybersecurity defenses after researchers disclosed a recent hacking attack targeting Capitol Hill.

January 12, 2018