Science & Tech

In Libya, You Can Buy an Anti-Aircraft Gun on Facebook

An online marketplace for illicit weapons is thriving in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a recent study that found sales of machine guns, rocket launchers, and anti-aircraft guns on private Facebook groups in Libya.

Science & Tech

US Christens First Ghost Ship (and The Dawn of The Robotic Navy)

Autonomous vessels like this submarine hunter will play a growing role in future naval missions and will soon crowd the seas.

Business

Giddy Among Fellow Nerds, Carter Pitches Pentagon Work to Techies

The defense secretary takes his outreach tour to robotics labs and startup centers in Austin and Boston.

Science & Tech

What the Pentagon’s Bug Bounty Program Won’t Fix

The defense secretary reveals a prize pool of $150,000, but will the program reveal the limits of Silicon Valley solutions to DOD problems?

Ideas

The FBI Should Tell Apple About the iPhone Vulnerability, If It Can

White House cybersecurity guidelines suggest disclosure, but the feds may not actually have the information.

Science & Tech

The Dark Web Is Too Slow and Annoying for Terrorists

For starters, a site on the dark web doesn’t do what jihadis need it to do: get their message out.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Mapmakers Are Using Social Media to Chart Syrians' Exodus

Officials admit the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's approach has its limitations.

Science & Tech

Skunk Works Chief: How To Keep America’s Airborne Advantage

Regular updates to the F-22 and F-35, says Lockheed’s Weiss, plus a deep commitment to chasing the game-changing tech of the future.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon Wants to Buy That Bomb You’re Building in the Garage

DARPA will pay tinkerers to weaponize off-the-shelf items — in hopes of defending against such hacks.

Ideas

US Ballistic Missile Defense Needs A Boost

Amid ominous tests by Iran and North Korea, why is the Missile Defense Agency’s budget shrinking?

Science & Tech

The Ukrainian Blackout and the Future of War

The world’s first cyber-caused electricity blackout shook security experts around the globe. Here’s what it means for keeping the lights on.

Ideas

The US Government Is Secretly Huddling With Tech Firms to Fight Extremism

A coalition of civil rights groups wants to be included in the closed-door meetings to keep the feds in check.

Science & Tech

So That Thumbprint Thing on Your Phone Is Useless Now

Researchers found a cheap, easy way to copy your fingerprints a few months after millions of Americans had theirs stolen by hackers.

Science & Tech

Thanks, America! How China's Newest Software Could Predict, Track, and Crush Dissent

Armed with data from spying on its citizens, Beijing could turn 'predictive policing’ into an AI tool of repression.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Googles 'Innovation,' Taps Eric Schmidt

Alphabet's executive chairman will lead new advisory board that aims to help DoD be more like Silicon Valley.

Science & Tech

We’re On the Same Side, Carter Tells Silicon Valley

As the FBI-vs.-Apple battle heats up, the defense secretary makes his own pitch to the tech industry.

Science & Tech

FBI Head: Apple is Taking Us To a 'Different World'

FBI warns that the world that Apple is making is one where the FBI can’t do its job. Apple says the FBI is seeking 'dangerous power.' Who’s right?

Science & Tech

Military-Funded Study Predicts When You’ll Protest on Twitter

Who tweets at you, what you tweet back, and why can predict your next protest act on social media.