| TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2026 | DHS is opening its wallet for all types of surveillance tech. One expert has ideas on how enterprises can prepare for a post-quantum reality. And a convicted scammer was running the same scam he was convicted of while spending time in prison. This is CyberScoop for Tuesday, March 17. |
|
|
|
DHS plans to spend millions on surveilanceThe Department of Homeland Security is poised to award hundreds of millions in surveillance technology contracts in 2026—including up to $50 million for mobile surveillance and over $100 million for modular systems—following Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" that nearly doubled the agency's funding to $191 billion and enabled purchases of facial recognition, cell phone tracking, and spyware from vendors like Palantir, Cellebrite, Penlink and Paragon Solutions. Watchdog groups say surveillance has shifted from border enforcement to interior operations targeting U.S. citizens and protesters, raising First and Fourth Amendment concerns. The spending comes amid collapsing oversight: Privacy Impact Assessment filings dropped from 24 in 2024 to eight in 2025 with none filed this year, DHS privacy officers were ousted after objecting to records mislabeling, and Inspector General Joseph Cuffari says DHS "has systematically obstructed" his work by blocking access to records. FedScoop's Lindsey Wilkinson has more. |
|
|
|
How enterprises can prepare for Q-DayChris Hickman, chief security officer of Keyfactor, argues in an op-ed that preparing for quantum threats requires far more than standard software patches—it demands a multi-year, enterprise-wide strategy involving boards and business leaders because post-quantum cryptography must reach every corner of an organization's digital environment, including the rapidly emerging challenge of authenticating thousands or millions of AI agents. The biggest obstacle is that few organizations have the holistic view needed for readiness: CISOs must create comprehensive inventories of systems and data, prioritize what to safeguard, adopt NIST-standardized quantum-resistant algorithms through automated platforms, and potentially use hybrid approaches that bridge classical and next-gen cryptography during the transition—all while recognizing there's "no finish line" in quantum-era security. Hickman emphasizes the shared responsibility problem: even if an organization locks down its systems, vulnerabilities remain with customers and business partners, making this as much about protecting brand trust and customer data as technical defenses, with "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks already underway and the potential U.S. economic cost exceeding $3 trillion. Read the op-ed here. |
|
|
|
Convicted scammer runs scam while in prisonKwamaine Jerell Ford, a 34-year-old Georgia man, is accused of targeting NBA and NFL athletes by impersonating an adult film star to steal iCloud credentials and multifactor authentication codes, using stolen financial information to execute over 2,000 unauthorized transactions between November 2020 and September 2024—crimes he allegedly initiated while incarcerated for a nearly identical 2015 scheme that victimized over 100 athletes and rappers. Ford allegedly escalated by coercing an OnlyFans model into secretly filming commercial sex acts with professional athletes without their consent, coordinating travel, negotiating payments and taking a financial cut—leading to 22 charges including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and sex trafficking. Despite being sentenced to three years and ordered to pay nearly $700,000 in restitution for his 2019 conviction, Ford allegedly established the new scheme while still in prison and continued after his January 2022 release, with prosecutors noting he escalated to "coercion and sex trafficking." Matt Kapko has more. |
|
|
Workday Federal Forum | Apr 28, 2026
This forum explores how transforming while modernizing can empower agencies to restore strategic capabilities to HR. Learn how to build an adaptable, resilient, and mission-ready workforce. Discover AI's role in accelerating skills-based hiring, streamlining decision-making, and enabling HR teams to prioritize strategic, human-centered work. Register today!
|
|
|
Comments
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment about our recent post.