Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 14, 2026

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, March 14, 2026 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and …

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Defense, Microsoft, Privacy, Social Media

The Removed DOGE Deposition Videos Have Already Been Backed Up Across the Internet

Follow-up to $21.7 Billion Blunder: New PSI Report Reveals Billions in Taxpayer Dollars Squandered by DOGE – See Also 404 Media [no paywall] – “The DOGE deposition videos a judge ordered removed from YouTube on Friday after they had gone massively viral have since been backed up across the internet, including as a torrent and …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research

ICE Turns to Private Industry to Track Down 100,000 Unaccompanied Children

Project Salt Box: [March 11, 2026], “ICE ERO released a request for proposals (RFP) on SAM.gov requesting contractor support to “conduct safety and wellness checks of an estimated 100,000 unaccompanied alien children (UAC) across the US.” Labeled as the “Safety Verification Initiative,” this RFP is the latest development in a year’s long campaign by ICE …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

Electronic Surveillance Under Scrutiny as Trump Targets Left Wing Groups as “Domestic Terrorists”

SpyTalk: “FEW NATIONAL SECURITY DEBATES HAVE RILED UP AMERICANS more than the permission Congress has given the government to eavesdrop on their private emails and phone calls. The legislation that gave these intrusive powers to the likes of the NSA and the FBI is up for renewal later this spring, and signs are that it …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Mail, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation

The DOJ has been taking down Epstein files. Here’s what remains

CBS News: “The massive tranche of files the Justice Department currently maintains is more than 65,000 pages shorter than what the agency initially released. After removing tens of thousands of files, the Department of Justice currently makes public about 2.7 million pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, a CBS News analysis found, a number …

Subjects: E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Legal Research

Majority of Americans Continue to Say Abortion Should Be Legal in All or Most Cases

Pew Report – “Nearly four years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a majority of Americans continue to say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Now, with a patchwork of differing state laws in effect, perceptions of abortion access vary by where people live. A 60% majority of U.S. adults …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Legislation

Polymarket hosts a future hellscape 

Protos – “Polymarket, a prediction market platform owned by New York-based company Blockratize, currently has open assassination markets on its website. They’re easy to find because they’re some of the most heavily traded markets on the platform. Among these markets are: Iran leader by end of 2026? (the current Ayatollah is on the list) Will …

Subjects: Defense, Economy, Financial System, Legal Research

DOJ clears way for government to hire technologists still connected to private sector employers

NextGov/FCW – “The Justice Department issued an opinion last week authorizing the Trump administration’s plan to allow employees from tech companies to work for the federal government while remaining employed by their companies and keeping their not-yet-vested company stocks. The administration will be onboarding managers from twenty-plus companies including Anduril, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Palantir and …

Subjects: AI, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Why is everyone on speakerphone in public?

Ars Technica – Your phone still functions when held to your ear, people! “…Ever since people began emerging from their pandemic isolation, I’ve seen a shocking amount of public speakerphone usage. Especially—of all places—in the grocery store. I can only assume that picking out spicy hummus and chicken tikka masala at Trader Joe’s is so …

Subjects: Internet