In this email message to colleagues, Israeli cryptographer Adi Shamir recounts the difficulties he faced in getting a visa to attend the 2013 Cryptologic History Symposium sponsored by the National Security Agency. Adi Shamir is the “S” in the RSA public-key algorithm and is “one of the finest cryptologists in the world today,” according to […]
A new Department of Defense directive requires the Pentagon to notify Congress whenever a DoD official discloses classified intelligence to a reporter on an authorized basis, or declassifies the information specifically for release to the press. The new directive on “Congressional Notification for Authorized Public Disclosure of Intelligence Information” applies to all components of the […]
New legislation to restore due process protections for federal employees who serve in “sensitive” positions was introduced last week by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton. Her bill was prompted by a widely criticized court ruling last August (in Kaplan v. Conyers and MSPB) that effectively stripped existing protections from such employees. The latest annual report from […]
For more than half a century, the public has been able to access a wealth of information collected by U.S. intelligence from unclassified, open sources around the world. At the end of this year, the Central Intelligence Agency will terminate that access. The U.S. intelligence community’s Open Source Center (OSC), which is managed by the […]
By Hans M. Kristensen Every time India test-launches a new ballistic missile, officials from the defense industry go giddy about the next missile, which they say will be bigger, more accurate, fly longer, and carry more nuclear warheads. Until now, all Indian ballistic missile types have carried only one warhead each, an important feature that […]
By Hans M. Kristensen While arms control opponents in Congress have been busy criticizing the Obama administration’s proposal to reduce nuclear forces further, the latest data from the New START Treaty shows that Russia has reduced its deployed strategic nuclear forces while the United States has increased its force over the past six months. Yes, […]
“Substantial implementation” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare) will continue even as most of the federal government is shutdown, the Congressional Research Service explained in a new report. “A lapse in [government] funding does not automatically result in the suspension of applicable laws, including the filing and payment deadlines applicable to […]
Criticism of U.S. intelligence takes many forms: Intelligence agencies are too secretive, or they are too leaky. They over-collect, or they under-perform. Or all of these, and more besides. Many of the criticisms can be reduced to a single argument: The U.S. intelligence community has become too large to be properly managed. Interestingly, this is […]
If Congress fails to appropriate funds for the new fiscal year beginning October 1, then most of the government will be obliged to shut down and cease operations. However, based on past practice, some national security-related activities would be exempted from the shutdown. A newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service anticipates that “many […]
The Central Intelligence Agency tried to make “inappropriate” use of an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act to withhold information that was not subject to the exemption, a federal court ruled last month. In a significant interpretation of the Central Intelligence Agency Act, Judge Beryl A. Howell narrowed the permissible scope of records that […]
Noteworthy new and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service that Congress has withheld from online public distribution include the following. Cybersecurity: Authoritative Reports and Resources, September 20, 2013 Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations, September 19, 2013 Across-the-Board Rescissions in Appropriations Acts: Overview and Recent Practices, September 20, 2013 […]
In a few days, Germans will head to the polls to vote in their federal elections. Few are predicting an easy win for long-standing German Chancellor, Angela Merkel (CDU/CSU), who is expected to face a serious but not insurmountable challenge. Unlike the SPD, Greens, FDP, and The Left, the Pirate Party has not been a […]