cybersecurity

Cracking the cyber world: NSA, hackers, and the complicated ways that digital information can threaten our personal lives, politics and national security.

Five Days at the Podium: The Shortest White House Press Secretary Tenure in Memory
Katie Zacharia did not move to Washington. She had not even packed. Five days after President Trump handed her the job of White House press secretary in an Oval Office meeting, she was standing on the South Lawn while Marine One idled behind her, listening to the president of the United States tell reporters that he had advised her to “reconsider” her career choice. “Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider,” Trump said, recounting the conversation. “Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this.” Hours later, the White House confirmed she was “transitioning into a new role.” She had started on Monday. It was Friday. Anthony Scaramucci’s eleven-day record, the benchmark of Trump-world humiliation for nearly a decade, had been cut in half.
By Jin3 days ago in The Swamp
Trump Put Taiwan’s Weapons on the Bargaining Table
1. The signature that never came In May 2026, Donald Trump returned to Washington after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping.
By Jin20 days ago in The Swamp
I Remember Y2K. I Think We’re Doing It Again With AI.
I think about Y2K a lot lately. I remember people genuinely panicking as 1999 came to an end. Computers supposedly was not going to understand that the year had changed from 1999 to 2000. Systems would crash! Banks could fail! Everything connected to a computer might suddenly stop working!
By Cadma22 days ago in The Swamp
The 6:1 Ratio: Inside the Cabinet Room Where Praise Replaced Policy
One in Six I January 29, 2026. The White House Cabinet Room. The cameras were already in place. Reporters had been allowed into a space that would normally be used for closed-door discussions of sensitive matters. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said to the camera: "What happened in Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, under President Trump, they would never happen. The tragedy of October 7 in Israel would never have happened either."
By Jin23 days ago in The Swamp
The US Left Iraq After 23 Years. Here’s What It Left Behind.
The last US troops left Iraq on a Wednesday. The date was September 30, 2026. The military presence that began with the March 2003 invasion had lasted 23 years.
By Jin24 days ago in The Swamp
Europe Is Building the Weapon It Once Called Illegal
I In 1987, the United States launched a Section 301 investigation into the European Community. In 1989, based on that investigation, Washington imposed retaliatory tariffs on the EC. In December 1998, the United States again invoked Section 301 to impose unilateral sanctions totaling $520 million on imports from the EU, including handbags and cashmere wool products.
By Jin26 days ago in The Swamp
'Big brother' apparatus to create a state of obedience
So in the brave new world of the miliary-industrial complex how do you turn a public relations dilemma and media pushback within the pseudo-democratic matrix into a smooth transition to all-out dystopian domination? Well, that seems to be the quandary facing Palantir at the moment.
By Steve Harrisonabout a month ago in The Swamp
Crunching numbers to turn us all into police informants
In the first part of this investigation into the “Miami lice sucking away our civil liberties” I suggested the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) was probably fairly satisfied with its relationship with Palantir, the National Health Service (NHS) less so – although still committed to a seven-year deal signed in 2023 – while British police authorities seemed to have some serious misgivings about the tech giant, however I harbour sneaky suspicions it’s just rhetoric to placate a fragile public perception of the surveillance monster.
By Steve Harrisonabout a month ago in The Swamp
Inside the belly of the beast also known as Palantir
Just guessing, but I figure I’m one of very few people from my generation who has not read J R R Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” or watched Peter Jackson’s cinematic adaptations of the epic created by the “father of fantasy”.
By Steve Harrisonabout a month ago in The Swamp
Russia’s Election Was Predictable. What Comes Next Is the Part That Matters.
After Russia’s Parliamentary Election: A Vote With No Suspense, and Who It Will Press Down on Next Moscow time, Sunday evening, at United Russia party headquarters. Dmitry Medvedev and Sergey Lavrov stood in front of a screen as the numbers jumped. Staff brought tea. No one drank it. This scene had been written before the vote. The only difference was where the percentage on the screen would finally stop.
By Jinabout a month ago in The Swamp
Europe’s Spy Chiefs Say Russia Is Preparing to Test NATO. The Baltics Are Saying: Don’t Panic.
The eve of the storm: The Russian threat and NATO’s credibility dilemma in the eyes of European intelligence A report based on September 2026 intelligence assessments
By Jinabout a month ago in The Swamp
Trump Said No to Saudi Arabia: The Red Sea Will Pay the Price
The weight of a “no” On September 10, 2026, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump twice. The first call was a briefing on Yemen. Hours later, he called again to ask U.S. forces to strike the Houthis.
By Jinabout a month ago in The Swamp