Security, Spoken

This week was one of revelations in the security world, most of them centered around nation-states pulling off ambitious hacks. In the wake of reports that Russia had used Kaspersky Lab software to steal NSA secrets, we took a look at the antivirus paradox that applies to every company selling it. And given reports that North Korea had attempted to hack a US energy utility, we looked at when exactly grid-attacks should freak you out. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and even encryption haven't kept hackers out of hoards of data like the ones stolen in the catastrophic breaches of Equifax or Yahoo. But now, some Silicon Valley firms are trying a deeper approach, building security into the basic design of how data moves between a company's servers. The method aims not to seal intruders out of sensitive systems, but to tighten the rim of the cookie jar around their wrist, trapping their grabby hands inside. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When evidence suggested President Trump was still using his personal Android phone in the White House earlier this year, security experts expressed both alarm and dismay at what might happen if hackers broke into that device. Now, POLITICO reports that former Department of Homeland Security head and current chief of staff John Kelly used a personal smartphone, possibly for months, that was compromised. That is bad. Don't do that. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When evidence suggested President Trump was still using his personal Android phone in the White House earlier this year, security experts expressed both alarm and dismay at what might happen if hackers broke into that device. Now, POLITICO reports that former Department of Homeland Security head and current chief of staff John Kelly used a personal smartphone, possibly for months, that was compromised. That is bad. Don't do that. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week saw a tragic start, when late Sunday night a man named Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more in Las Vegas. Hoaxes and conspiracy theories flooded the internet in the immediate aftermath, as did questions—since answered—around how Paddock was able to fire at automatic speeds. We also took a look at gun-control tech—but didn't find much that's promising. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Like so many other Fox News devotees in search of new voids to shout into, Donald Trump loves to tweet. He also, though, happily shares his account with at least one staffer. So how do we know when the most-mad-online president in human history is actually tapping out his own material? Fortunately for us, Trump is a creature of habit, and he's got some tells. In the early days, all it took to figure out whether a tweet came from Trump himself was to peek at the source device. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In the aftermath of mass shootings in the United States, like Sunday evening's Las Vegas tragedy that killed at least 58 people and wounded over 500, a debate often emerges about how to prevent such incidents from occurring again. Part of that heated and longstanding gun-control battle is the question of whether technology can make guns safer. And they can—but not in a way that can prevent many of the country's most high profile attacks. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Fatimah Gifford was nervous the day she was scheduled to testify in front of Texas’ Health and Human Services committee. Gifford is the VP of Communications for Whole Woman’s Health, which operates five reproductive healthcare clinics across Texas. This wasn’t her first time testifying before the state legislature, but it was her first time testifying about abortion. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The initial drama over Equifax's September data breach has mostly subsided, but the actual damage will play out for years. And indeed, there turns out to be plenty of spectacle and public controversy left. It was all on display at a Tuesday Congressional hearing, in which lawmakers questioned Equifax's former CEO Richard Smith in an attempt to make sense of how things went so wrong. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For the past five years, Cody Wilson has applied every possible advance in digital manufacturing technology to the mission of undermining government attempts at gun control. First he created the world's first 3-D printed gun, a deadly plastic weapon anyone could print at home with a download and a few clicks. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices