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Attorney General Revives Feud With Tech Companies Over 'Warrant Proof' Encryption

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Security experts and lawmakers say that creating a “backdoor” to unlock devices and messages would make those products vulnerable to hackers. What are your thoughts on this? Duringa speech at a cybersecurity conferenceon Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr spoke out against the tech industry’s practice of using encryption tools that can only be unlocked by the end user, arguing that it endangers lives and makes it more difficult for law enforcement to do their jobs. Barr said that encryption can be a valuable tool when it comes to protecting information from cybercriminals. He objected, however, to tech companies’ refusal to create ways for law enforcement to access locked or encrypted devices when they are issued search warrants.

EU says Russia conducted 'sustained' election interference campaign

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The European Union already suspected that Russia was trying to disrupt its parliamentary elections through hacks and other online interference, and now it's directly pointing a finger at the country. EU officials have published a report accusing Russia of orchestrating a "continued and sustained" misinformation campaign during the late May election similar to ones the country tried in the US, France and other countries. It used fake stories to "promote extreme views," stoke political tensions and, sometimes, discourage voter turnout.

A Top Voting-Machine Firm Calls for Paper Ballots

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Election Systems & Software, which describes itself as the nation’s leading elections-equipment provider, has vowed to stop selling paperless electronic voting systems—at least as the "primary voting device in a jurisdiction." And the company is calling on Congress to pass legislation mandating paper ballots and raising security standards for voting machines.

Why the future of US data regulation must come from Congress

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As of May 2019, over 20 US states have introduced bills seeking to regulate data privacy, data security, or some combination of the two. While many of these bills agree in spirit (i.e. privacy good, data collection and usage bad), the various bills are decidedly more divergent as to how to accomplish these objectives.

2016 election hacking in Florida: Russian emails, hidden tracks

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Since early April when Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was released, a storm of confusion and controversy has raged over what happened in Florida during that election. A cryptic passage in the Mueller report outlines how Unit 74455 of Russia’s military intelligence arm GRU sent “spear-phishing emails to public officials involved in election administration and personnel involved in voting technology.”

Utah County Struck by Ransomware

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Garfield County, Utah, was recently affected by ransomware. Local government is an increasingly attractive target for criminals because of its high dependence on information technology, and generally poor security. Elected officials are under constant pressure to spend available funds on something visible and appealing to the electorate rather than unseen technology.