Category: Government
Watchdog says DHS still hasn’t got a 2020 election security plan
Homeland Security’s cybersecurity advisory unit “has not yet completed” its plans to secure the 2020 presidential election, a government watchdog has said. The report, published on Thursday by the Government Accountability Office, said the unit, CISA, is “not well-positioned to execute a nationwide strategy for securing election infrastructure prior to…
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After Iowa caucus flub, can tech be trusted in elections?
An app intended to speed up reporting of election results for the Iowa caucuses has failed spectacularly, not only confusing the electorate but perhaps poisoning their feelings toward making any technological “improvements” to the voting process whatsoever. TechCrunch staff reporters Brian Heater, Jonathan Shieber, Zack Whittaker, Devin Coldewey and Ingrid…
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Google and Facebook turn their backs on undersea cable to China
Google and Facebook seem to have resigned themselves to losing part of the longest and highest profile internet cable they have invested in to date. In a filing with the Federal Communications Commission last week, the two companies requested permission to activate the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN) between the…
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Calling all cosmic startups – pitch at TechCrunch’s 2020 Space event in LA
Founders – it’s time to shoot for the stars. For the first time ever, TechCrunch is hosting a brand new event TC Sessions: Space on June 25th in Los Angeles. But that’s not all, because on June 24th TechCrunch will host a Pitch Night exclusively for early stage space startups.…
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Iowa’s caucus app was a disaster waiting to happen
A smartphone app designed to help announce the results of the Iowa caucus ended up crapping out and causing a massive delay by almost an entire day. The Iowa caucus traditionally uses gatherings of people in counties across the state to determine which candidates they want to back for the…
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Ancestry.com rejected a police warrant to access user DNA records on a technicality
DNA profiling company Ancestry.com has narrowly avoided complying with a search warrant in Pennsylvania after a search warrant was rejected on technical grounds, a move that is likely to help law enforcement refine their efforts to obtain user information despite the company’s efforts to keep the data private. Little is…
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