In-brief: Facebook said thousands of ads that ran on its site in 2015 and 2016 have links to Russian information operations. The ads were designed to foment discord around a range of issues.
Government
A Year Later: FDA approves Software Fix for Security Flaws in Pacemakers
In-brief: The FDA as approved a software update to software security holes in pacemakers made by Abbott. But doctors and patients will have to weigh the risks of apply the patch.
Hacking Warships, Capitol Hill takes a Swing at IoT Security and why CS Grads don’t get Security
In-brief: on this week’s Security Ledger Podcast, we delve deeper into the question of maritime cyber security, speaking with noted researcher Ruben Santamarta of the firm IOActive about the work he’s done exposing vulnerabilities in the software that runs both commercial and navy vessels. Also: Alan Brill of Kroll joins us to talk about The Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act. And we talk to Maria Loughlin of the firm Veracode about a new survey that suggests undergraduate computer science majors aren’t receiving adequate instruction in cyber security.
Analysis: there is both Means and Motive for Cyber Attacks on Navy Vessels
In-brief: could cyber attacks have played a role in recent collisions between US Navy vessels and commercial ships? The short answer is yes. Regardless of what caused the most recent incidents, both the means and the motive exist to launch such attacks in the future.
Report: GOP Border Wish List includes Drones, DNA & Voice Scans
Enlarge / A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer checks identifications as people cross into the United States from Mexico on September 23, 2016 in San Ysidro, California. (credit: John Moore / Getty Images News)
If a new Senate Republican border security bill is passed as currently drafted, it would dramatically increase the amount of surveillance technologies used against immigrants and, in some cases, American citizens traveling to and from the United States.
The bill, known as the “Building America’s Trust Act,” is authored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.). It aims for a “long-term border security and interior enforcement strategy,” according to its summary. However, the senators have yet to formally introduce the text of the bill.
So Ars is going to do it for them: we received an advance copy of the bill’s text from an anonymous source, and we are publishing it here before it has been formally introduced in the Senate. Ars repeatedly contacted the offices of all six senators who are listed as co-sponsors for comment—none made anyone available.
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