July 21, 2008

SPECIAL REPORT
Analysis: Spying Chinese temptress steals senior Brit's BlackBerry

Another senior government official has had his BlackBerry stolen by another foreign intelligence agency. But this time, it's not an American official. According to the U.K.'s The Sunday Times, a senior aide to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had his BlackBerry stolen by Chinese intelligence agents while on a trip to China back in January.

This latest report is particularly juicy because the senior Downing Street aide got caught in what's probably the world's oldest intelligence ploy, the "honeytrap," an intelligence scam where an attractive female spy is used to lure a government official into some form of compromising position.

Returning to the story of our bonking Brit and his BlackBerry bandit. Just how much trouble did this aide's problematic peccadillo get him into? Of more concern, how much damage did our international man of mystery's "special branch" do to Britain's security -- and, by extension, the security of her allies?

July 14, 2008

SPECIAL REPORT
U.S. government agencies' cyber-security and record-keeping worse than previously thought

This latest Special Report spotlights a surprising lack of government record-keeping oversight, along with critical cyber-security gaps, both revealed in last week's Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of the National Archives and Records Administration and four key government agencies: Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Trade Commission, and HUD.

The GAO audit was provided to the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Unfortunately, while the GAO described certain record-keeping and computer management practices at these various agencies, they may not have fully understood how the practices they documented would lead to troubling security flaws at the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Trade Commission, and they certainly didn't point them out explicitly for the Committee to investigate. This report provides those details.
 

May 7, 2008

SPECIAL REPORT
White House email expert calls for Special Prosecutor

This latest Special Report spotlights the increasingly apparent examples of massive negligence within the White House Office of the Chief Information Officer, this time resulting in evidence that the White House has irrevocably broken at least two key federal laws: the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act.

The Special Report also explores how ranking members of the House Oversight Committee have virtually guaranteed that none of White House's email problems will be resolved until the end of the next administration, four years after George W. Bush leaves office.
 

April 28, 2008

SPECIAL REPORT
The worrisome implications of the Mexican theft of White House BlackBerry devices

Our ongoing story about the security of White House email took a strange turn on Friday, proving some of the national security concerns Editor-in-Chief David Gewirtz has been discussing to be true in a particularly tangible and unfortunate way.

What makes this topic so troubling, of course, is the serious national security breach that may have occurred. But there's more to the story, including issues of the relationship between the United States and Mexico, and even how racial stereotyping may have contributed to spinning this story in a way that may be obscuring the true magnitude of the possible damage to our national security.

April 14, 2008

COMMENTARY
Are political journalists falling prey to technological misdirection?

David has a new article out. This time, though, it's not in a ZATZ magazine. Instead, it's running in the Nieman Watchdog of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.

March 28, 2008

SPECIAL REPORT
The White House Email Controversy: where have all the computers gone?

In the melange of technology and politics that describes the story of the White House email controversy, there is yet another chapter. In our latest plot twist, the White House CIO claims that email messages from 2003 to 2005 either can't be produced because they're not missing, because the computers they were on have been destroyed, or because it's too hard to find them.

In this article, Editor-in-Chief David Gewirtz digs in and provides a detailed analysis and point-counterpoint to the White House's response, along with exploring a key element that all of the parties to this controversy seem to be missing. And, sadly, he's also uncovered at least two new serious security risks at the White House. Read on.


February 28, 2008

SPECIAL REPORT
The White House Email Controversy: hearings spotlight disturbing IT practices

On Tuesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held hearings into the missing White House email messages. After watching the three hours of hearings and reviewing the various supporting transcripts, Editor-in-Chief David Gewirtz' first impression can be summarized in three words: what a mess!

January 21, 2008

SPECIAL REPORT
The White House Email Controversy: get ready for the hearings

Even though our book is finally out, that doesn't mean the story of White House email is over. Far from it. In fact, this week saw a number of new developments in Washington as the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform gets ready to hold hearings on this topic.

In this Special Report, David Gewirtz gives you an overview of the latest developments as well as his analysis.