Digital Government

Can Cops Force You to Unlock Your Phone With Your Face?

Apple’s new Face ID technology raises questions about constitutional protections for personal devices.

Emerging Tech

The Internet of Things Needs a Code of Ethics

Technology is evolving faster than the legal and moral frameworks needed to manage it.

Cybersecurity

Hackers Get Back to the Basics

As the costs of complex cyberattacks increase, old-school email tricks are coming back in style.

Cybersecurity

A Trick That Hides Censored Websites Inside Cat Videos

The technique uses popular sites as camouflage for banned ones.

Artificial Intelligence

Chatbots Have Entered the Uncanny Valley

When virtual assistants almost pass as human, they only seem more robotic.

Digital Government

The Dark Side of Slack’s New Emoji Statuses

The cutesy feature could pressure employees into sharing their every move—both on and off the clock.

Digital Government

The Steady Rise of Digital Border Searches

At the current rate, customs agents are on track to increase inspections of travelers’ electronic devices by a third this year.

Digital Government

An Algorithm That Hides Your Online Tracks With Random Footsteps

Can “polluting” browsing history with fake traffic make it harder for ISPs to spy on you?

Modernization

When Apps Secretly Team Up to Steal Your Data

An analysis of the top 100,000 Android apps found tens of thousands of pairings that leak sensitive data.

Cybersecurity

CSI: Walmart

Some of the best digital-forensics labs don't belong to the police—they're run by banks, tech companies, and retailers.

Cybersecurity

Encryption Won’t Stop Your Internet Provider From Spying on You

Data patterns alone can be enough to give away what video you’re watching on YouTube.

Digital Government

How the Rise of Electronics Has Made Smuggling Bombs Easier

New restrictions on flights from the Middle East reflect how just about anything with power can be turned into an explosive.

Cybersecurity

Hacking Tools Get Peer Reviewed, Too

A government-led effort paves the way for data extracted from electronic devices to be accepted as evidence in court.

Digital Government

What Happens If a Nuclear Bomb Goes Off in Manhattan?

A computer model is in the works to simulate how New Yorkers would respond in the the first 30 days after a nuclear attack.

Modernization

Your Hot Hands Can Give Away Your Smartphone PIN

Thermal images reveal what parts of the screen were tapped, even after it’s left untouched for 30 seconds.

Digital Government

The Cyberwar Information Gap

Unlike a conventional military strike, state-on-state cyberattacks can go unreported for years.

Digital Government

The Government’s Secret Wiki for Intelligence

Analysts reportedly tucked classified information about Russian hacking inside Intellipedia for safekeeping.

Digital Government

The Invisible Fence That Keeps Drones Away From the President

Some drones are programmed to avoid restricted airspace—but it’s not hard to ignore the limits and fly there anyway.