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Six intelligence officials, including the heads of the CIA, FBI, and NSA, have told the Senate Intelligence Committee that they would not recommend that U.S. citizens use smartphones from the Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, reports CNBC. As FBI director Chris Wray told the committee: “We’re deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks. That provides the capacity to exert pressure or control over our telecommunications infrastructure. It provides the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information....

POTUS, Trump...you hold all the immigration cards in your hands, use that leverage to get and gain all you want to be successful in Controlling Illegals, Druggies, Cartels, Slave traffic, etc. Get all "Four" levels of your plan in the immigration bill. If not, veto any bill that reaches your desk. Give the Democrats nothing...they have no leverage whatsoever, and they never intended doing anything for the DACA "Kiddies". Like "Flounder" in Animal House, they (Hispanics) got screwed. They trusted their "Dummie" selves. The folks that are not-too-bright, slow thinkers, are millions of Hispanics, who just got royally screwed by...

A survey of computer security experts confirms that they generally consider Linux superior to either the Windows or Apple operating systems when it comes to security....And if you want to try out Linux, all you really need is a spare laptop or desktop, one or two years old, that you aren’t using any more, and to then follow the instructions provided here on Behind the Black by reader James Stephens for Getting and Installing Linux."

When Mike O’Brien, Ballard’s Seattle City Council member, biked up the Ballard Bridge last Thursday night, he counted five tents camped under the north ramp. He went back Tuesday, and those tents were gone. The underpass was fenced off, and workers were drilling holes to put up a 10-foot-high spiked fence to prevent homeless people from camping there.

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Olympic officials are scrambling to contain an outbreak of norovirus at the Winter Games, which open here Friday, after 41 security guards fell ill. More than 1,200 people have been quarantined while they are tested for the virus, which has caused vomiting and diarrhea among those affected, and hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to make up the shortfall in security staff. The outbreak, revealed just three days before Friday’s Opening Ceremonies, is particularly unwelcome given the security concerns surrounding these Games, which are taking place just 50 miles from the border with North Korea.

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes issued the following statement today: “Having stonewalled Congress’ demands for information for nearly a year, it’s no surprise to see the FBI and DOJ issue spurious objections to allowing the American people to see information related to surveillance abuses at these agencies. The FBI is intimately familiar with ‘material omissions’ with respect to their presentations to both Congress and the courts, and they are welcome to make public, to the greatest extent possible, all the information they have on these abuses. Regardless, it’s clear that top officials used unverified information in...

Amazon’s Alexa voice-controlled virtual assistant is the Chatty Cathy of the tech world, a digital darling that consumers can’t get enough of. It can tell chicken jokes, order pizza and turn off the kitchen faucet. So it’s not surprising that Alexa has made the leap from the home to the car. But just as Alexa promises added hands-free convenience for drivers, researchers and engineers warn that it also opens new avenues for hacking, tracking and sonic attacks. Depending on how voice-activated assistants are connected, such hacks could range from annoying pranks like opening a car’s windows in the rain to...

I am posting this because it needs to be discussed right now in light of the fact that Democrats are willing to shut down the country to enhance the rights of illegal aliens. In 1998, I was winding down my career as a Coast Guard reservist. Completing one of my remaining Search and Rescue watches, I recall this conversation with and Ensign who was visiting the Commcenter. She had been assigned to a USCG cutter during the Haitian migration. This cutter was assigned to intercept the boatloads of Haitians who were trying to migrate illegally to Florida in hazardous conditions....

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie learned the drawbacks of ordinary life Thursday morning when he tried to bypass the TSA line and was denied entry to a special entrance at Newark Liberty International Airport, normally reserved for VIP guests, dignitaries and elected officials, according to a source familiar with the matter. When Christie arrived at Terminal C in the airport with his New Jersey State Police detail and was taken to the entrance, which is located near the exit of the restricted area of the terminal, a Port Authority officer refused to let Christie use the special entrance, informing...

Good evening, I’m still reporting on: FBI Baffled by Encryption, 1978 Synopsis: New FBI Director Christopher Wray, speaking on Tuesday at a cyber-security conference in New York, said that powerful encryption tools now becoming widely available are frustrating his agency. Surprise, surprise; last year, the FBI was unable to access data from 7800 devices – that’s over 50% - despite having legal authority to do so – i.e. a legitimate warrant from a real judge. Wray warned the audience of cyber-security experts from around the world: “This is an urgent public safety issue. [The solution] is not so clear cut.”...

AMD have updated their web page and clarified a bit more on speculative_execution vulnerabilities with some additional details on current state of affairs and AMD actions.

F-Secure has reported another serious flaw in Intel hardware, which could enable hackers to access corporate laptops. Standard password of Intels Management Engine BIOS Extension are rarely changed and can invoke business laptops vulnerable to unauthorized remote access, claims F-Secure. Intels Management Engine BIOS Extension, or MEBx, contains the standard log-in combination 'admin', 'admin' and because many users simply do not change it, according to F-Secure this opens the door to an easy to set-up attack. Attackers can open the BIOS Extension during startup with Ctrl + P, even if the user has set a bios password. Then they can manage settings of the Management Engine, reports dw.com."The issue...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is increasingly unable to access data from some electronic devices that could help in prosecuting criminals and terrorists, which is an ‘“urgent public safety issue,’ said Christopher Wray, director of the agency, speaking at a cybersecurity conference here Tuesday,” Sara Castellanos reports for The Wall Street Journal. “In fiscal year 2017, the FBI was unable to access the content of 7,775 devices tied to defendants and victims in criminal cases, Mr. Wray said in a speech at the International Conference on Cybersecurity. That number represents more than half of all the devices tied to criminal...

SAS soldier 'chopped off ISIS thug's head with SHOVEL and used his gun to kill more militants' The British sergeant was said to have run out of ammunition during a bloody battle in Afghanistan By Chris kitching Updated 20:40, 7 JAN 2018 An elite SAS soldier cut off an ISIS fighter's head with a spade after he ran out of ammunition during a bloody six-hour battle, it was claimed. After killing the jihadist, the British sergeant used the enemy's gun to kill more militants. The brutal battle is said to have occurred six weeks ago in war-torn Afghanistan. The British...

Arab League foreign ministers on Saturday discussed US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. At the meeting, Jordanian Foreign MInister Ayman al-Safadi said that "there will be no security in the region without the establishment of a Palestinian state." "All of our decisions will be made in accordance with the interests of the Palestinians," ...

President Trump is asking Congress to approve $18 billion in funding to finance his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, CBS News confirmed Friday. The request, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed to CBS by a White House official, would cover construction of the wall over a decade. The official said that it's a potential ask for lawmakers as they craft border enforcement measures and will be discussed at a Camp David retreat this weekend attended by Mr. Trump, GOP congressional leaders and members of the Cabinet. An administration official said that the document from...

White House staff will reportedly be banned from using personal mobile phones while at work. Chief of staff John Kelly issued the directive for security reasons, per Bloomberg News, despite some aides expressing concern that they'll be unable to contact or be contacted by family or friends in case of emergency. The change in policy is not in response to leaks of sensitive information about the Trump administration to the press, one official told the news outlet. Another source said too many devices were connected to the White House wireless network and personal cellphones weren't as secure as their work...

Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others.

Airports across the country increasingly are turning to therapy dogs to help relieve the stress of flustered fliers. But confusion and even conflict can result from the growing packs of pooches, after dogs used by security agents and emotional support animals traveling with passengers are factored in.

Google Project Zero's Tavis Ormandy has turned up a howling blunder in a password manager bundled with Windows 10.On Friday, Ormandy dropped the bug, not in Windows but in the third-party Keeper password manager. He wrote: “I've heard of Keeper, I remember filing a bug a while ago about how they were injecting privileged UI into pages (issue 917). I checked and, they're doing the same thing again with this version. I think I'm being generous considering this a new issue that qualifies for a ninety day disclosure, as I literally just changed the selectors and the same attack works.“The...