Andrew Blake

Obama admin pledges $4B toward self-driving cars

The Obama administration on Thursday pledged $4 billion toward a 10-year plan that would fund research and development projects related to autonomous automobile technology in hopes of putting self-driving cars on American streets during the next decade.

January 15, 2016

Hyatt says 250 hotels hit by data breach, including nine in D.C. area

Hyatt Hotels admitted Thursday that a previously disclosed cybersecurity incident had affected the payment systems used at about 250 of the chain's 630 properties, including nine in the greater D.C. region.

January 15, 2016

Justin Amash aims to roll back ‘cyber surveillance’ bill added to omnibus

Rep. Justin Amash, Michigan Republican, on Wednesday proposed repealing cybersecurity legislation included in the last-minute spending bill recently passed by Congress.

January 15, 2016

John McCain says White House’s cyber deterrence policy comes up short

The cyber deterrence policy put out by the White House last month is "wholly lacking any new information," Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain said in a blistering statement released Thursday after the Obama administration unveiled its plan more than a year behind schedule.

January 15, 2016

Jeb Bush: Put the NSA in charge of the civilian side of the Internet

Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said during Thursday night's Republican Party debate that he favors putting the National Security Agency in charge of the country's cybersecurity needs following a series of of high-profile hacks that successfully targeted government agencies and corporations alike under the current administration.

January 15, 2016

DHS asks hotels to look for used condoms, smelly rooms to help curb sex trafficking

Hotel employees have been asked by the Department of Homeland Security to keep a look out for guests who use several condoms during their stay -- just one of dozens of indicators that suggests human trafficking is afoot, the agency said in a new campaign.

January 15, 2016

AZ gov ramps up #deadbeat campaign, asks residents to submit tips on child support evaders

After launching a social media campaign this week intended to name and shame deadbeat parents who haven't paid child support, the office of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has unveiled a website where users can submit tips to the state's Department of Economic Security.

January 14, 2016

Ecuador, Sweden working on arrangement to question Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may soon be questioned over allegations of sexual assault after the Ecuadorian government this week said it's ready to cooperate with Swedish prosecutors concerning an investigation stemming from 2010.

January 14, 2016

Power plants, factories, critical infrastructures at risk of hacking, DHS cyber expert says

Industrial control systems used in power plants and factories are increasingly at risk of being hacked because they are often connected to the public-facing Internet, a government cybersecurity official warned on Wednesday.

January 14, 2016

Hillary Clinton email challenge rejected by federal judge as ‘moot’

A federal judge has rejected a pair of lawsuits in which the government had been asked to take action against the Department of State stemming from Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server while in office.

January 14, 2016

Citizens United sues over Chelsea Clinton emails

Citizens United filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday in hopes of having a federal court grant the conservative group access to emails exchanged between Chelsea Clinton and five top aides to her mother, White House contender Hillary Clinton, while the presidential hopeful served as secretary of state.

January 14, 2016

Fewer than 100 to remain at Guantanamo following bulk transfer slated for this week

The Pentagon on Thursday is expected to announce the transfer of another ten Guantanamo Bay detainees, lowering the number of individuals held at the detention facility to less than 100 for the first time in its 14-year history.

January 13, 2016

Pro-gun lobbyists gave more than double to political campaigns versus gun control groups: report

Gun rights lobbyists gave more than twice the amount of money to congressional campaigns in 2014 than gun control advocates, a new report revealed.

January 13, 2016

Ukraine expands ban on Russian goods with meat, vodka embargo

Ukraine has expanded a list of Russian items banned from being brought into the country as sanctions imposed by the United States and western allies are reported to be having more of an impact on Moscow that previously predicted.

January 13, 2016

Nuclear commission risks being hacked because of organizational issues: watchdog report

Computer networks used by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission pose a real possibility of being exploited by hackers as a result of inadequate organization among security personnel, a federal report found this week.

January 13, 2016

Homeland Security doles out $1.7 million for distributed denial of service protection

The Department of Homeland Security has given an Oregon-based tech company $1.7 million to protect its network from distributed denial-of-service attacks, an easy-to-administer type of cyber-assault that's been used by hackers to cripple entire systems and servers.

January 12, 2016

100+ shot, 19 killed so far this year in Chicago

More than 100 people have been shot in Chicago since the start of 2016 as law enforcement blames the latest surge in violent crime on "chronic gang conflicts."

January 12, 2016

Matt Salmon, House Republican, questions China’s commitment to cybersecurity pact

A Republican member of the House of Representatives has raised concerns over a supposed cyber-pact between the United States and China amid reports that Beijing is unwilling to stop hacking American targets.

January 12, 2016

ODNI admits spy chief James Clapper’s phone was hit by hackers

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper's office has confirmed that phone calls intended for the director were being re-routed to a pro-Palestinian hotline after a hacker claimed to have gained access to the spy chief's personal Verizon account.

January 12, 2016

Andrew Cuomo vows to bring Wi-Fi to all NYC subways by 2017

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pledged $8 billion to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in order to outfit all of New York City's underground subway stations with wireless Internet by the end of the year.

January 12, 2016