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Citizen Lab director warns cyber industry about US authoritarian descent

The director of Citizen Lab, one of the most prominent organizations investigating government spyware abuses, is sounding the alarm to the cybersecurity community and asking them to step up and join the fight against authoritarianism. On Wednesday, Ron Deibert will deliver a keynote at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas, one of the largest gatherings of information security professionals of the year. Ahead of his talk, Deibert told TechCrunch that he plans to speak about what

Palantir is extending its reach even further into government

President Donald Trump’s administration has dramatically expanded its work with Palantir, elevating the company cofounded by Trump ally Peter Thiel as the government’s go-to software developer. Following massive contract terminations for consulting giants and government contractors like Accenture, Booz Allen, and Deloitte, Palantir has emerged ahead. Now the data analytics firm is partnering with those companies—offering them a lifeline while consolidating its own power. Palantir has become one

Palantir Is Extending Its Reach Even Further into Government

President Donald Trump’s administration has dramatically expanded its work with Palantir, elevating the company cofounded by Trump ally Peter Thiel as the government’s go-to software developer. Following massive contract terminations for consulting giants and government contractors like Accenture, Booz Allen, and Deloitte, Palantir has emerged ahead. Now the data analytics firm is partnering with those companies—offering them a lifeline while consolidating its own power. Palantir has become one

Palantir Is Extending Its Reach Even Further Into Government

President Donald Trump’s administration has dramatically expanded its work with Palantir, elevating the company cofounded by Trump ally Peter Thiel as the government’s go-to software developer. Following massive contract terminations for consulting giants and government contractors like Accenture, Booz Allen, and Deloitte, Palantir has emerged ahead. Now the data analytics firm is partnering with those companies—offering them a lifeline while consolidating its own power. Palantir has become one

YouTube will be included in Australia's social media ban for children after all

YouTube will be included in Australia's social media ban for children under 16, as reported by Bloomberg . The country's Labor government said that the site will be subject to the same rules as other leading platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X when the legislation goes into effect this December. Australia had planned to exempt YouTube from the forthcoming social media ban, on the grounds that it's an educational tool. This irked other platforms, with Meta and TikTok urging the coun

Google says it never received a UK demand for encryption backdoor, unlike Apple

A hot potato: Google says that unlike rival Apple, it has not received a demand from the UK government to build a backdoor in its encrypted services. The tech giant had refused to answer a US Senator's question on the matter, but it has since confirmed it is not subject to a similar order as Apple. In a letter to the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, Senator Ron Wyden, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote about the UK's "reported secret surveillance demands of

Elon Musk’s Boring Company to build Tesla tunnels under Nashville

The Boring Company, Elon Musk’s tunnel-digging company, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee have announced a plan to build a 10-mile “loop” that will connect Nashville’s downtown and its convention center to the area’s airport. The project will be privately funded by The Boring Company “and its private partners,” according to the Governor’s press release, though those partners are not named. The Boring Company and local officials will now begin a “public process to evaluate potential routes, engage

Josh Hawley Wants to Send Out Rebate Checks So Americans Can ‘Benefit’ From Trump’s Tariffs

President Trump’s tariffs have generated around 20 billion dollars in revenue for the U.S. government, although it’s worth noting that a vast majority of this wealth has been derived from import duties on American businesses. In other words, Americans are paying the federal government (many critics have noted that tariffs are just taxes by another name) for the pleasure of doing business with foreign exporters. For the fiscally confused, the New York Times recently wrote an explainer on tariffs

Trump’s cybersecurity cuts putting nation at risk, warns New York cyber chief

During the first few months of the new Trump administration, the White House slashed cybersecurity budgets, staff, and initiatives. And some, including cybersecurity experts and legislators, are not happy about it. One of them is Colin Ahern, the chief cyber officer for the state of New York. In a recent interview with TechCrunch, Ahern said that both he and New York Governor Kathy Hochul are worried that the Trump administration’s cuts to cybersecurity are putting the country at risk. “We wor

New York state cyber chief calls out Trump for cybersecurity cuts

During the first few months of the new Trump administration, the White House slashed cybersecurity budgets, staff, and initiatives. And some, including cybersecurity experts and legislators, are not happy about it. One of them is Colin Ahern, the chief cyber officer for the state of New York. In a recent interview with TechCrunch, Ahern said that both he and New York Governor Kathy Hochul are worried that the Trump administration’s cuts to cybersecurity are putting the country at risk. “We wor

Trump’s Anti-Bias AI Order Is Just More Bias

On November 2, 2022, I attended a Google AI event in New York City. One of the themes was responsible AI. As I listened to executives talk about how they aligned their technology with human values, I realized that the malleability of AI models was a double-edged sword. Models could be tweaked to, say, minimize biases, but also to enforce a specific point of view. Governments could demand manipulation to censor unwelcome facts and promote propaganda. I envisioned this as something that an authori

Internet Archive is now a US federal depository library

The Internet Archive has become an official U.S. federal depository library, providing online users with access to archived congressional bills, laws, regulations, presidential documents, and other U.S. government documents. U.S. Senator Alex Padilla designated it as such in a July 24 letter to the Superintendent of Documents at the Government Publishing Office, which oversees the Federal Depository Library Program that coordinates a network of over 1,150 such libraries. "Through its Democracy

Microsoft to stop using China-based teams to support Department of Defense

Last week, Microsoft announced that it would no longer use China-based engineering teams to support the Defense Department’s cloud computing systems, following ProPublica’s investigation of the practice, which cybersecurity experts said could expose the government to hacking and espionage. But it turns out the Pentagon was not the only part of the government facing such a threat. For years, Microsoft has also used its global workforce, including China-based personnel, to maintain the cloud syst

New Jersey is the latest state to embrace digital IDs

New Jersey citizens will now be able to flash their driver's license from their smartphones after Governor Phil Murphy signed a digital ID measure into law, joining the ranks of over a dozen other states to do so. The law also allows for digital non‑driver identification cards for those without driver's licenses. The bill also enshrines privacy and security protocols for those using the digital IDs, including safeguards to prevent unauthorized access to the underlying data. It outlines protecti

Internet Archive is now an official US government document library

The US Senate has granted the Internet Archive federal depository status, making it officially part of an 1,100-library network that gives the public access to government documents, KQED reported. The designation was made official in a letter from California Senator Alex Padilla to the Government Publishing Office that oversees the network. "The Archive's digital-first approach makes it the perfect fit for a modern federal depository library, expanding access to federal government publications a

Trump says he won't 'destroy' Musk's companies by taking away subsidies

Elon Musk receives a golden key from U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard President Donald Trump on Thursday denied claims that he wants to wreck Elon Musk's companies and their work with the U.S. government. "Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon's companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government," he said in a post to Truth Social. "Th

I tested two new Govee indoor lights and turned my place into an enchanting light show

Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro x Sound by JBL The Govee Table Lamp 2 Pro x Sound by JBL offers gorgeous lighting effects and Bluetooth speaker functionality. It sounds great and will look even better. While there are better speakers at its price point, none of them look as good as this one. You can never have enough RGB lighting, right? Not only does it definitely improve fps while gaming (this is scientifically proven), but these lights can set the mood and turn any space into a mesmerizing light show

New UK law would ban ransomware payments by publicly funded orgs

The British government has announced plans to move forward with a law that would bar public organizations from paying off ransomware attackers. The proposed legislation would add schools, town councils, National Health Service (NHS) hospitals and critical infrastructure managers to a ban which already applies to the national government. The logic behind banning payments is simple. If cybercriminals know a ransomware attack against a UK school or hospital won't get them paid, they'll look somewh

UK government wants ransomware victims to report breaches so it can carry out ‘targeted disruptions’ against hackers

The U.K. government wants to require victims of ransomware to report if they were breached with the goal of providing law enforcement with information that could help target the cybercriminals responsible. On Tuesday, the U.K.’s interior ministry, the Home Office, published a proposal with the aim of changing the British government’s strategy to counter ransomware. Among the three key proposals is a reporting requirement, which would aid authorities in identifying and disrupting hacking operati

$16.5B Apple tax windfall will pay for new electricity and water infrastructure in Ireland

With the last remaining part of the Apple tax windfall paid to the Irish government recently, we are today learning what the country plans to do with the €14.25B ($16.5B). The country’s prime minister has promised “unprecedented” investment in the country’s ailing infrastructure, with Apple’s money to be spent mostly on electricity and water projects … Irish government receives €14.25B ($16.5B) You can read a summary of the nine-year saga over whether or not Apple owed the Irish government bi

UK government wants ransomware victims to report cyberattacks so it can disrupt the hackers

The U.K. government wants to require victims of ransomware to report if they were breached with the goal of providing law enforcement with information that could help target the cybercriminals responsible. On Tuesday, the U.K.’s interior ministry, the Home Office, published a proposal with the aim of changing the British government’s strategy to counter ransomware. Among the three key proposals is a reporting requirement, which would aid authorities in identifying and disrupting hacking operati

After Fight With Musk, Trump Reportedly Ordered Review of Government SpaceX Contracts

Now that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and president Donald Trump are no longer seeing eye to eye, it sounds like the White House is working to undercut the richest man in the world's revenue from Washington. As the Wall Street Journal reports, Trump aides initiated a review of SpaceX contracts with the federal government to identify potential waste — pointed scrutiny not unlike the so-called Department of Government Efficiency helmed by Musk himself prior to his ousting from the Trump administration.

UK to ban public sector orgs from paying ransomware gangs

The United Kingdom's government is planning to ban public sector and critical infrastructure organizations from paying ransoms after ransomware attacks. The list of entities that would have to follow the new proposed legislation includes local councils, schools, and the publicly funded National Health Service (NHS). "Ransomware is estimated to cost the UK economy millions of pounds each year, with recent high-profile ransomware attacks highlighting the severe operational, financial, and even l

OpenAI and UK sign deal to use AI in public services

OpenAI and UK sign deal to use AI in public services 3 hours ago Share Save Mitchell Labiak & Imran Rahman-Jones Business & technology reporters Share Save Getty Images OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, has signed a deal to use artificial intelligence (AI) to increase productivity in the UK's public services, the government has announced. The agreement signed by the firm and the science department could give OpenAI access to government data and see its software used in education, defence, secu

Global hack on Microsoft Sharepoint hits U.S., state agencies, researchers say

Hackers exploited a major security flaw in widely used Microsoft server software to launch a global attack on government agencies and businesses in the past few days, breaching U.S. federal and state agencies, universities, energy companies and an Asian telecommunications company, according to state officials and private researchers. The U.S. government and partners in Canada and Australia are investigating the compromise of SharePoint servers, which provide a platform for sharing and managing d

Hackers exploiting SharePoint zero-day seen targeting government agencies

The hackers behind the initial wave of attacks exploiting a zero-day in Microsoft SharePoint servers have so far primarily targeted government organizations, according to researchers as well as news reports. Over the weekend U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA published an alert, warning that hackers were exploiting a previously unknown bug — known as a “zero-day” — in Microsoft’s enterprise data management product SharePoint. While it’s still early to draw definitive conclusions, it appears that th

UK backing down on Apple encryption backdoor after pressure from US

Sir Keir Starmer’s government is seeking a way out of a clash with the Trump administration over the UK’s demand that Apple provide it with access to secure customer data, two senior British officials have told the Financial Times. The officials both said the Home Office, which ordered the tech giant in January to grant access to its most secure cloud storage system, would probably have to retreat in the face of pressure from senior leaders in Washington, including Vice President JD Vance. “Th

UK backing down on Apple encryption backdoor after pressure from US

Sir Keir Starmer’s government is seeking a way out of a clash with the Trump administration over the UK’s demand that Apple provide it with access to secure customer data, two senior British officials have told the Financial Times. The officials both said the Home Office, which ordered the tech giant in January to grant access to its most secure cloud storage system, would probably have to retreat in the face of pressure from senior leaders in Washington, including Vice President JD Vance. “Th

British government set to back down on secret iCloud backdoor after US pressure

We learned earlier this year that the British government had secretly ordered Apple to create a backdoor into encrypted data for all iCloud users worldwide. Specifically, it wanted a way to see personal data protected by Apple’s introduction of Advanced Data Protection (ADP), which extended end-to-end encryption to almost all iCloud data, meaning not even the iPhone maker could access it. Apple has been fighting the secret order in secret court hearings, but it now appears that the US governmen

UK wants to weasel out of demand for Apple encryption back door

The UK government is reportedly set to back down from its battle with Apple to obtain back door access to secure user data protected by the company’s iCloud encryption. Victory hasn’t come through the courts, or government figures changing their minds on privacy matters, but thanks to ongoing pressure from the US during the two countries’ trade talks. Multiple unnamed UK officials told the Financial Times that the UK government is working on a way out. “The Home Office is basically going to hav