

Grant Gross
Senior Editor
Grant Gross edits and assigns stories and writes about technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for the IDG News Service. He is based outside of Washington, D.C.


Assange: CIA had lost control of its cyberweapon documents
Information about purported CIA cyberattacks was "passed around" among members of the U.S. intelligence community and contractors before it was published by WikiLeaks this week, Julian Assange says.

WikiLeaks' CIA document dump shows agency can compromise Android, TVs
WikiLeaks has released more than 8,700 documents it says come from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, with the documents saying the agency had 24 "weaponized" zero-day exploits for the Android operating system as of 2016.

US surveillance law may see no new protections for foreign targets
Any reform of a controversial U.S. law allowing the National Security Agency to spy on people overseas will likely focus on its impact on U.S. residents, without curbing its use elsewhere.

What to expect from the Trump administration on cybersecurity
Look for U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to push for increased cybersecurity spending in government, but also for increased digital surveillance and encryption workarounds.

Verizon knocks off $350M from Yahoo deal after breaches
Verizon Communications will pay US$350 million less for Yahoo after two major data breaches reported by the struggling internet pioneer.

Tech groups gear up for FISA surveillance fight
A controversial provision in U.S. law that gives the National Security Agency broad authority to spy on people overseas expires at the end of the year, and six major tech trade groups are gearing up for a fight over an extension.

Yahoo warns users of account breaches related to recent attacks
Yahoo has begun warning individual users that their accounts with the service may have been compromised in a massive data breach it reported late last year.

US House approves new privacy protections for email and the cloud
The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Monday the Email Privacy Act, which would require law enforcement agencies to get court-ordered warrants to search email and other data stored with third parties for longer than six months....

Trump stresses cybersecurity but postpones executive order
U.S. President Donald Trump called on government agencies to better protect their networks, but he delayed signing an executive order to kick-start a government-wide review of cybersecurity policy.

Court denies US government appeal in Microsoft overseas email case
A U.S. appeals court will not reconsider its groundbreaking decision denying Department of Justice efforts to force Microsoft to turn over customer emails stored outside the country.

Snowden allowed to stay in Russia longer
U.S. National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden will be allowed to stay in Russia for "another couple of years," according to a spokeswoman for the government there.

Terrorists are winning the digital arms race, experts say
Terrorist groups are embracing a huge number of digital tools to recruit members and plan attacks, putting them a step ahead of governments trying to combat them, a group of counterterrorism experts said.

Trump's CIA nominee grilled on his advocacy of surveillance database
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the CIA wants to create a massive surveillance database by resurrecting a U.S. telephone records collection program, but some senators questioned what limits he would accept.

Trump: It was probably Russia that hacked the DNC, Clinton campaign
Russia was likely behind the hacks of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump finally has acknowledged.

Tech companies like Privacy Shield but worry about legal challenges
Privacy Shield, the new international framework allowing companies to transfer customer data between the EU and the U.S., is getting good reviews so far, but some companies aren't betting on it for the long term.

Privacy protections for wearable devices are weak, study says
The rapidly expanding wearable device market raises serious privacy concerns, with some device makers collecting massive amounts of personal data and sharing it with other companies, according to a new study.

Privacy groups urge investigation of 'internet of toys'
Privacy groups in the U.S. and seven European countries will ask consumer protection agencies to investigate the maker of two internet-connected toys for violations of laws designed to protect children's privacy.

Senators fail to stop new rules allowing US law-enforcement hacking
Three senators' efforts to stop a major expansion of U.S. law enforcement agencies' hacking powers has failed for now.
