Craig Timberg
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Longtime WashPost reporter, editor and author now covering technology
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Articles by Craig Timberg
Exclusive-Trump poised to expand refugee program for white South Africans
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration is considering more than doubling an annual refugee limit to bring more white South Africans into the U.S., according to three people familiar with the matter.
Trump fires Kristi Noem as homeland secretary after storm over shootings, spending
WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday after months of controversy, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal officers in Minneapolis and lawmakers'...
Top Noem aide entered cockpit before firing pilot over missing blanket, sources say
WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Top U.S. homeland security aide Corey Lewandowski entered the cockpit of a government jet uninvited during a flight last year, after which he fired a pilot over a misplaced blanket, two people familiar with the matter...
Exclusive-Justice Department unit on police misconduct sees staffing plunge and probes scaled back, sources say
WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department unit responsible for prosecuting potential wrongdoing by law enforcement, including during the crackdown on illegal immigration in Minneapolis, has lost two-thirds of its prosecutors and is...
Trump border commander could head to Charlotte, New Orleans, sources say
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's top immigration enforcer in Chicago could leave as soon as this week and travel next to Charlotte, North Carolina, one current U.S. official and two former officials said.
New York attorney general urges public to report ICE activity after raid targets vendors
NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York State's attorney general on Wednesday urged the public to submit photos, videos and other documentation of federal immigration operations to her office for review, a day after a high-profile raid targeted Manhattan street...
Ataques online, desinformación y vigilancia: una filtración revela cómo Rusia lleva adelante una guerra cibernética
Las agencias de inteligencia rusas trabajaron con un contratista de defensa con sede en Moscú para fortalecer su capacidad de lanzar ataques cibernéticos, sembrar desinformación y vigilar secciones de Internet, según miles de páginas de documentos corporativos confidenciales.
Secret trove offers rare look into Russian cyberwar ambitions
Russian intelligence agencies worked with a Moscow-based defense contractor to strengthen their ability to launch cyberattacks, sow disinformation and surveil sections of the internet, according to thousands of pages of confidential corporate documents. The documents detail a suite of computer programs and databases that would allow Russia's intelligence agencies and hacking groups to better find vulnerabilities, coordinate attacks and control online activity.
7 takeaways from the Vulkan Files investigation
Here are seven takeaways from the Vulkan Files. 1. Russia's military has been looking to scale cyberattacks, using new technologies and platforms. Moscow's cyberwarriors are not a disparate collection of hackers launching ransomware for quick scores. Instead, they are part of a robust, state-sponsored effort using the full power of the Russian security state and private companies to identify critical targets and enemies' vulnerabilities.
Secret trove offers rare look into Russian cyberwar ambitions
Russian intelligence agencies worked with a Moscow-based defense contractor to strengthen their ability to launch cyberattacks, sow disinformation and surveil sections of the internet, according to thousands of pages of confidential corporate documents. The documents detail a suite of computer programs and databases that would allow Russia's intelligence agencies and hacking groups to better find vulnerabilities, coordinate attacks and control online activity.
7 takeaways from the Vulkan Files investigation
The world has longseen the destructiveeffects of Russian hacking and disinformation campaigns, but rarely has there been much insight into how these operations occur. That's what makes the the Vulcan Files different: More than 5,000 pages of confidential corporate documents reveal insights into a Moscow-based contractor that builds tools for Russia's cyberwarriors. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine.
The Lawfare Podcast: Craig Timberg on the Vulkan Files
Published by The Lawfare Institute in Cooperation With Document leaking has been in the news lately—and not just stories about the leaking of U.S. intelligence documents.
Trump Immigration Ban: Uber, Lyft React as Tech Industry's Opposition Escalates
The tech industry's opposition to President Trump escalated Thursday as corporate leaders drafted a letter warning of the economic risks of his immigration policies, Uber's chief executive quit an administration advisory board, and Lyft pulled its ads from Breitbart News, the site founded by the White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon.
U.S. defense firm L3Harris in talks with NSO Group over spyware
Placeholder while article actions load A major American defense firm, L3Harris, is in talks with the blacklisted Israeli spyware company, NSO Group, to buy its phone-hacking capability in a deal that would give the U.S. company control of one of the world's most sophisticated and controversial hacking tools, according to people familiar with the talks.
Biden's tech agenda gets a reality check as Elon Musk buys Twitter
Placeholder while article actions load The Biden administration arrived in Washington with an ambitious agenda for taming Big Tech, which it portrayed as concentrating too much power in the hands of a few billionaires - the moguls of a new, digital Gilded Age. Elon Musk's $44 billion deal to buy Twitter has put that critique into sharp relief, underscoring how badly Biden's tech agenda has stalled in the 15 months since taking the White House.
Trump says he won’t rejoin Twitter. Some advisers don’t believe him.
Former president Donald Trump has said he wouldn’t rejoin Twitter, even if Elon Musk completes a $44 billion takeover of the company and rescinds his ban in the name of unfettered free speech. But some of Trump’s advisers don’t believe he’d be able to stay away from the megaphone that fueled his rise to the presidency — even though he owns a Twitter clone, Truth Social, that has staked its existence on the exclusive use of Trump’s online brand.
Musk’s bid for Twitter underscores the risks of social media ownership
Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington.
Thousands of emails purportedly from the laptop computer of Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, are authentic communications that can be verified through cryptographic signatures from Google and other technology companies, say two security experts who examined the data at the request of The Washington Post. The verifiable emails are a small fraction of 217 gigabytes of data provided to The Post on a portable hard drive by Republican activist Jack Maxey.
How The Post Analyzed Hunter Biden's Laptop
Craig Timberg & Matt Viser & Tom Hamburger The Washington Post March 31, 2022 Thousands of emails purportedly from the laptop computer of Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, are authentic communications that can be verified through cryptographic signatures from Google and other technology companies, say two security experts who examined the data at the request of The Washington Post.
Inside Hunter Biden’s multimillion-dollar deals with a Chinese energy company
The deal was years in the making, the culmination of forging contacts, hosting dinners, of flights to and from China. But on Aug. 2, 2017, signatures were quickly affixed, one from Hunter Biden, the other from a Chinese executive named Gongwen Dong. Within days, a new Cathay Bank account was created. Within a week, millions of dollars started to change hands.
2 experts used email headers to determine veracity
The Washington Post asked two computer security experts to review a portable hard drive that purportedly contained data from Hunter Biden's MacBook Pro computer. The Post obtained the drive last year from a conservative political researcher who had once worked for former Donald Trump adviser Stephen Bannon.
Inside Hunter Biden’s multimillion-dollar deals with a Chinese energy company
The deal was years in the making, the culmination of forging contacts, hosting dinners, of flights to and from China. But on Aug. 2, 2017, signatures were quickly affixed, one from Hunter Biden, the other from a Chinese executive named Gongwen Dong. Within days, a new Cathay Bank account was created. Within a week, millions of dollars started to change hands. Within a year, it would all begin to collapse.
Hard drive containing Hunter Biden laptop data examined by two forensic experts
Here’s how The Post analyzed Hunter Biden’s laptop Two experts confirm the veracity of thousands of emails, but say a thorough examination was stymied by missing data March 30, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. EDT The repair shop in Wilmington, Del., where Hunter Biden's laptop's journey to the public began.
Does email verification hurt privacy?
The kind of forensic examination that security experts conducted on data purportedly from the laptop computer of Hunter Biden, at The Washington Post's request, can help establish the authenticity of emails. But it also creates privacy risks that could be prevented, said Matt Green, one of the experts. Green, a Johns Hopkins University cryptologist, was able to verify 1,828 emails by checking cryptographic signatures that accompanied the messages.
Hard drive containing Hunter Biden laptop data examined by two forensic experts Original
Two experts confirm the veracity of thousands of emails, but say a thorough examination was stymied by missing data 17 min The repair shop in Wilmington, Del., where Hunter Biden's laptop's journey to the public began.
Inside Hunter Biden’s multimillion-dollar deals with a Chinese energy company
The deal was years in the making, the culmination of forging contacts, hosting dinners, of flights to and from China. But on Aug. 2, 2017, signatures were quickly affixed, one from Hunter Biden, the other from a Chinese executive named Gongwen Dong. Within days, a new Cathay Bank account was created. Within a week, millions of dollars started to change hands. Within a year, it would all begin to collapse.
Durbin defends Supreme Court nominee Jackson's record on child pornography
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) meet March 9 on Capitol Hill. (Alex Brandon/AP) Sen. Richard J. Durbin on Sunday defended the record of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson after Republican criticism of her handling of child pornography cases in judicial and policy roles. Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dismissed allegations made last week by Sen.
Sanctioned rebels are using Facebook to recruit fighters and spread pro-Russia propaganda, whistleblower complaint claims
In the days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Aleksandr Zaldostanov, the leader of a pro-Putin biker gang, the Night Wolves, turned to Facebook to disparagethe Ukrainian president and push falsehoods about the war. “Ukraine is a torn off piece of Russia, which is shrinking in pain and bleeding still,” he posted on March 1 to more than 18,000 followers.
Pro-Russia rebels are still using Facebook to recruit fighters, spread propaganda
Debris is seen in the aftermath of the strike on Mariupol children's hospital as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 9, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. INSTAGRAM/VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY VIA REUTERS In the days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Aleksandr Zaldostanov, the leader of a pro-Putin biker club gang, the Night Wolves, turned to Facebook to disparage the Ukrainian president and push falsehoods about the war.
Internet experts suggest ways to selectively block Russian military and propaganda sites
Ethernet cables used for Internet connections. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters) More than two dozen Internet experts on Thursday proposed creating an international committee that could impose targeted sanctions against Russian military and propaganda websites without knocking ordinary civilian sites offline.
A new iron curtain is descending across Russia's internet
Advocates of an open, globally connected internet long have worried that a major country or region would break away from the web amid geopolitical strife, dashing hopes of a seamless network capable of uniting a fractious world. Little more than a week into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the world is coming closer to that unsettling prophecy than ever before. Moscow's censors on Friday banned Facebook and throttled other American social media services.
U.S. tech dominance could offer leverage over Russia
Russia is dependent on American technology for many services, but cutting access to that technology could be costly to the U.S. economy, slow to deliver results and scattershot in its impacts. (Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg) The world runs largely on American tech: Intel's chips, Microsoft's code, Google's searches, Apple 's phones, Amazon's cloud. And this fact can give the United States extraordinary leverage in geopolitical conflicts.
Social media fuels new type of 'fog of war' in Ukraine conflict
Oliver Alexander, a Danish businessman working in a beachfront apartment in southern Portugal, is watching war play out more than 2,000 miles away in something like real time. With Twitter on his computer and Telegram on his phone, a flood of videos allow him to identify Russian tanks rolling over Ukrainian bridges and Russian helicopter gunships blasting away at a Ukrainian airport... - Overblik, inspiration og indsigt i dansk og internationalt erhvervsliv.
Social media fuels new type of ‘fog of war’ in Ukraine conflict
Commuters look at their phones as they travel in a local train in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Oliver Alexander, a Danish businessman working in a beachfront apartment in southern Portugal, is watching war play out more than 2,000 miles away in something like real time.
Social media fuels new type of 'fog of war' in Ukraine conflict
A passenger at Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, follows news on Feb. 24 after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in Ukraine. (Umit Bektas/Reuters) Oliver Alexander, a Danish businessman working in a beachfront apartment in southern Portugal, is watching war play out more than 2,000 miles away in something like real time.
DataStax introduces new cybersecurity features for its serverless Astra DB database - SiliconANGLE
Ice Cream Machine Hackers Sue McDonald's for $900 Million For years, the tiny startup Kytch worked to invent and sell a device designed to fix McDonald's notoriously broken ice cream machines, only to watch … It’s time to confront the Trump-Putin nexus In 2014, the Putin regime invaded Ukraine’s Crimea. In 2016, the same regime invaded the United States.
Surveillance company offered ‘bags of cash’ for access to U.S. cell networks, whistleblower claims
A logo adorns a wall on a branch of the Israeli NSO Group company, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir, Aug. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File) The surveillance company NSO Group offered to give representatives of an American mobile-security firm “bags of cash” in exchange for access to global cellular networks, according to a whistleblower who has described the encounter in confidential disclosures to the Justice Department that have been reviewed by The Washington Post.
NSO offered 'bags of cash' for access to U.S. cell networks, whistleblower claims
The mobile-phone security expert Gary Miller alleges that the offer came during a conference call in August 2017 between NSO Group officials and representatives of his employer at the time, Mobileum, a California-based company that provides security services to cellular companies worldwide. The NSO officials specifically were seeking access to what is called the SS7 network, which helps cellular companies route calls and services as their users roam the world, according to Miller.
Pegasus hack reported on iPhones of Human Rights Watch official
FILE - A logo adorns a wall on a branch of the Israeli NSO Group company, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir. (Sebastian Scheiner/AP) Human Rights Watch official Lama Fakih was at a meeting in Beirut, where she lives and works, when a strange message appeared on her iPhone on Nov. 24: "ALERT," it said.
22 journalists at Salvadoran news site hit with Pegasus hack
An NSO Group branch near the southern Israeli town of Sapir. (Sebastian Scheiner/AP) At least 22 journalists from the independent Salvadoran news site El Faro were targeted with telephone spyware, investigators announced Wednesday, in one of the most extensive attacks yet discovered using the Pegasus software that human rights advocates say has been abused by governments around the world.
Until the Year Wears Out: What Our Editors Are Reading
Happy New Year! I’m not sure when it becomes too late to wish someone a happy new year. Some restrict the salutation to just the first three days, others extend it out to the first week, or even all of January. I tend to just wish a happy new year until the year wears out (a very fluid standard, I know). This question applies to other terms as well. When is a couple no longer a “newlywed”? When is a “belated” happy birthday an “early” happy birthday?
Until the Year Wears Out: What Our Editors Are Reading
Happy New Year! I’m not sure when it becomes too late to wish someone a happy new year. Some restrict the salutation to just the first three days, others extend it out to the first week, or even all of January. I tend to just wish a happy new year until the year wears out (a very fluid standard, I know). This question applies to other terms as well. When is a couple no longer a “newlywed”? When is a “belated” happy birthday an “early” happy birthday?
Facebook groups topped 10,000 daily attacks on election before Jan. 6, analysis shows
WASHINGTON - Facebook groups swelled with at least 650,000 posts attacking the legitimacy of Joe Biden's victory between Election Day and the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, with many calling for executions or other political violence, an investigation by ProPublica and The Washington Post has found.
How ProPublica and The Post researched posts of Facebook groups
Data analyzed for the ProPublica-Washington Post examination of Facebook posts was collected from over 100,000 public Facebook groups tracked between January 2020 and June 2021 by CounterAction, a firm that studies online disinformation. CounterAction marked Facebook groups for tracking if group members had posted links to U.S. political websites. Additional Facebook groups were then marked for monitoring if they had any members in common with groups already under observation.
Nearly 50,000 Facebook users may have been targets of private surveillance, company says
Country United States of AmericaUS Virgin IslandsUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsCanadaMexico, United Mexican StatesBahamas, Commonwealth of theCuba, Republic ofDominican RepublicHaiti, Republic ofJamaicaAfghanistanAlbania, People's Socialist Republic ofAlgeria, People's Democratic Republic ofAmerican SamoaAndorra, Principality ofAngola, Republic ofAnguillaAntarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S)Antigua and BarbudaArgentina, Argentine RepublicArmeniaArubaAustralia, Commonwealth...
Nearly 50,000 Facebook users may have been targets of private surveillance, company says
Facebook is notifying nearly 50,000 users in more than 100 countries that they may have been targets of hacking attempts by surveillance companies working for government agencies or private clients, the company said Thursday.
Nearly 50,000 Facebook users may have been targets of private surveillance, company says
FILE - Facebook unveiled their new Meta sign at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on, Oct. 28, 2021. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, and ridesharing company Lyft separately announced Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, that they're letting workers delay their return when offices fully reopen early next year.
‘I know my parents love me, but they don’t love my people’
By Rachel Hatzipanagos Email Much of the narrative surrounding adoption is overwhelmingly positive, focusing on how people open up their homes and hearts to a child. But I was curious about the experiences of families who did transracial adoptions, in which children are a different race from their parents. While adoptees told me they were grateful to their parents, they also told me that they struggled to talk about race with their families.
Racists and Taliban supporters have flocked to Twitter’s new audio service after executives ignored warnings
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey appears on a screen as he speaks remotely during a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP) Earlier this year, as Twitter raced to roll out Spaces, its new live audio chat feature, some employees asked how the company planned to make sure the service didn’t become a platform for hate speech, bullying and calls to violence. In fact, there was no plan.
11 U.S. diplomats told phones hacked
WASHINGTON -- Apple alerted 11 U.S. diplomats that their iPhones had been hacked in recent months by spyware from NSO Group, an Israel-based company that helps government clients in dozens of countries steal files, eavesdrop on conversations and track the movements of its targets, according to people familiar with the notifications.
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