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Democracy Docket – “In recent months, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been contacting states demanding access to sensitive election and voting data. In Minnesota and Nevada, DOJ sent nearly identical letters seeking access to their state voter rolls. In Colorado, DOJ made an unprecedented, sweeping demand for all 2024 election records. And in …
MakeUseOf: “Short URLs are handy for cleaning up long links, but they also hide the true destination. If you want to avoid malware or a phishing scam, blindly clicking that link isn’t your best bet—there are better and safer options! Why Short URLs Are a Security Nightmare -The biggest problem with short URLs is simple: …
How to Geek: “How safe is this URL? That’s the question you should be asking before clicking on random links. A friend of mine on X shared how she learned this lesson the hard way after getting locked out of her Snapchat account. Don’t make the same mistake. Here are seven of the best free …
The Indicator: “Over the past two years, websites that use AI to turn any photo into a nude have been targeted by platform moderation, legal action, and regulation. While some AI nudifiers have been shut down, the ecosystem as a whole had adapted and proven remarkably resilient. Just last week, a Save the Children survey …
The Atlas of Surveillance – Documenting Police Tech in Our Communities with Open Source Research. “Explore 12,810 datapoints in the U.S. collected by hundreds of researchers. Last updated 7/15/25. TOGGLE the Legend to reveal how technology is spreading. ZOOM into any region to see the technologies in detail. If an area has no markers, it …
Wired – no paywall: “A new agreement viewed by WIRED gives ICE direct access to a federal database containing sensitive medical data on tens of millions of Americans, with the goal of locating immigrants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are getting access to the personal data of nearly 80 million people on Medicaid in order …
Via Just Security – Classified Information and State Secrets: Why the Senate Must Consider National Security Risks in Judicial Confirmations – “A vote to confirm a judicial nominee is a vote to grant that individual a lifetime security clearance and access to some of the country’s most closely held secrets. This week, the Senate Committee on …
ProPublica: “The Internal Revenue Service is building a computer program that would give deportation officers unprecedented access to confidential tax data. ProPublica has obtained a blueprint of the system, which would create an “on demand” process allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to obtain the home addresses of people it’s seeking to deport. Last month, in …
Federal Register on 07/17/2025 and available online – SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION. [Docket No. SSA-2025-0031]. Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA). ACTION: Notice of a new matching program. SUMMARY: In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces a new matching program with the Office of …
NextGov/FCW: “Days after President Donald Trump took office again in January, thousands of government pages with critical data were taken down as agencies rushed to comply with executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, as well as what the administration calls “gender ideology.” That day activated a community, said Denice Ross, the government’s former …
Data manipulation within the US Federal Government, Freilich, Janet et al. The Lancet. Published July 3, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01249-8 – “A US Department of Veterans Affairs dataset compiling veteran health-care use in 2021 was quietly amended on March 5, 2025. A column titled gender was renamed sex, and the words were also switched in the …
Proton VPN Blog: “In recent years, journalists have emerged as one of the top targets of surveillance by governments around the world. If you’re a reporter working on sensitive topics, no country is safe for privacy in the context of an international market for spyware apps that can secretly monitor all the data transmitted and …
