• Fighting Global Cybercrime

    Cyber threats from across the world⁠—from Russian attempts to influence the war in Ukraine by threatening cyberattacks against the West, to China stealing defense and industrial secrets, to Iran’s 2021 targeting of Children’s Hospital in Boston⁠, thwarted by the FBI — were the focus of recent remarks by FBI Director Christopher Wray.

  • Insights into Blockchain Vulnerabilities

    Distributed ledger technology, such as blockchains, has become more prevalent across a variety of contexts over the past decade. The premise is that blockchains operate securely without any centralized control and that they are immutable or unsusceptible to change. New report details how centralization can be introduced, affecting security.

  • A Simple Tool Curbs Hacking, Makes Websites More Secure

    Researchers have developed a scanning tool to make websites less vulnerable to hacking and cyberattacks. The black box security assessment prototype is more effective than existing web scanners which collectively fail to detect the top 10 weaknesses in web applications.

  • Taking Steps Toward a Secure Quantum Internet

    Scientists with at the University of Chicago have, for the first time, connected the city of Chicago and suburban labs with a quantum network—nearly doubling the length of what was already one of the longest in the country.

  • The Risk of Russian Cyber Retaliation for the United States Sending Rockets to Ukraine

    U.S. rocket shipments to Ukraine will not trigger Russian cyberattacks against the United States. Russian is too focused on attacking Ukrainian systems and defending their own networks to mount a response to the weapons shipments.

  • Can Reforming Social Media Save American Democracy?

    When social media exploded in the mid-2000s, retweeting, sharing and liking posts appeared to give average citizens the power to share their opinions far and wide. The problem, according to social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, is that online social networks didn’t really end up giving everyone the voice that many thought it would. “It empowered four groups who take advantage of the viral dynamics of social media. That is the far right, the far left, trolls and Russian intelligence,” he says.

  • “Hacking” Solutions for Pressing Cybersecurity Challenges

    When people think about the game capture the flag, memories of gym class or family trips likely come to mind. Researchers are participating in a slightly different version of this childhood favorite, where teams face off against opponents across the world to tackle real-world cybersecurity issues. 

  • Cybersecurity Tools to Protect Solar, Wind Power on the Grid

    Solar panels and wind turbines are projected to produce 44% of America’s electricity by 2050, but they present cybersecurity challenges. They have sensors, controllers, actuators or inverters which are directly or indirectly connected to the internet using insecure connectivity to legacy electric grid systems. They have complex physics. They’re subject to advanced persistent threats. And there will be more and more of them going online.

  • Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State Networks on Facebook 

    Researchers found that the network of support on social media for al-Shabaab and Islamic State extended across several platforms, including decentralized messaging applications such as Element and RocketChat, and encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram, as well as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. 

  • Stronger Security for Smart Devices

    Researchers are pushing to outpace hackers and develop stronger protections that keep data safe from malicious agents who would steal information by eavesdropping on smart devices. The researchers have demonstrated two security methods that efficiently protect analog-to-digital converters from powerful attacks that aim to steal user data.

  • Five Cybersecurity Challenges Beyond Technology

    The data are clear: cyberattacks have been on the rise in recent years and the cybersecurity situation is increasingly complex. More than 90% of cyberattacks are made possible, to a greater or lesser extent, by human error.

  • Keeping Web-Browsing Data Safe from Hackers

    Studying a powerful type of cyberattack, researchers identified a flaw in how it’s been analyzed before, then developed new techniques that stop it in its tracks.

  • Randomly Moving Electrons Can Improve Cybersecurity

    Researchers have developed a record-breaking true random number generator (TRNG), which can improve data encryption and provide improved security for sensitive digital data such as credit card details, passwords and other personal information.

  • Who Cares about a Midterm Election? Comparing Russia, Iran, and China’s Electoral Interference from Past to Present

    Midterm elections present a complicated target environment for foreign manipulators because, unlike presidential elections, there is no single candidate who can significantly alter U.S. foreign policy. But interference opportunities remain, and adversaries have the potential to advance their strategic objectives through a campaign meant to create further turbulence within U.S. democracy.

  • Secure Communication with Light Particles

    Quantum computers offer many novel possibilities, they also pose a threat to internet security since these supercomputers make common encryption methods vulnerable. Researchers have developed a new, tap-proof communication network.