Posts Tagged ‘National Security Agency’

 

The Watchers in the Wall Street Journal

Check out this essay in the Wall Street Journal based on my book.  I take an in-depth look at what’s wrong with the U.S. security system, and how to fix it.

Hacking the Bad Guys

The United States is fighting a new kind of war, but the first shots were fired a generation ago. Check out my feature story in Washingtonian about the rise of cyber security in the U.S. government, told through the tales of two key actors.

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Rise of Cyberwar on C-SPAN

I was a guest on Washington Journal this morning, talking about cyber war and my recent cover story in National Journal on how a U.S. cyber attack helped turn the tide of the Iraq war. The program lasted a half hour, and we took a number of good viewer questions.

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China’s Cyber Militia

Just a quick heads up to those who might not be on my e-mail list, a pointer to a cover story in Friday’s National Journal on China’s cyber militia. U.S. intelligence officials and computer security experts believe that Chinese hackers may be responsible for two major blackouts, as well as the theft of information from […]

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Total Information Awareness and the National Security Agency

In light of recent reporting, I want to recall two previous stories on the revival of the Total Information Awareness Program and its connection to the NSA’s surveillance efforts. You can view all my NSA reporting here.

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We need a new wiretapping law, eh

“All of our legal architecture is founded on the notion that telecommunications intercepts involved putting bugs in walls or hooking interception devices to pairs of copper wires.” Sound like a familiar complaint? It should, if you’ve been following the debate to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But this quote comes from one of our […]

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Would Democrats let Protect America expire?

Comments by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer suggest that Democrats might be preparing to let the Protect America Act expire this week. They would then use the next few weeks to pass a longer-term law. Voice of America has a roundup of member positions this morning, and quotes Hoyer. Hoyer asserted to reporters that even […]

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House seems poised to approve Senate’s FISA bill

The House voted down a Democratic measure that would have extended the Protect America Act for another 21 days. Joining the unanimous Republican vote were 34 Democrats (list below). In breaking ranks, they have positioned the House to take up a Senate bill that makes major changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and which […]

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Clinton and Obama avoid future weak-on-terror ads

Sens. Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama will avoid a spate of weak-on-terror ads by John McCain or his surrogates, particularly those alleging the senators voted to deny intelligence agencies the power to monitor terrorists’ phone calls or e-mails. That’s because when time came to vote on a new intelligence surveillance law, the presidential candidates didn’t […]

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“This is the sound of settling.”

With apologies to Death Cab for Cutie. The Senate has passed a bill that amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and offers immunity to companies that assisted the government with electronic surveillance after the 9/11 attacks. Now it’s onto the House, which has already passed its FISA fix, without the immunity clause. What are […]

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