Tim Starks

DHS Ousts CBP Privacy Officers Who Questioned ‘Illegal’ Orders Department of Homeland Security leaders removed top privacy officers who objected to mislabeling government records to block their public release, WIRED has learned.

Scoop: DHS ousted multiple privacy officers at CBP after they questioned orders to purposely mislabel records about government surveillance to prevent their release under FOIA.

Cyber Command, engaged in war with Iran, gets new commander The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Army Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd as commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the NSA.

Cyber Command, engaged in war with Iran, gets new commander @defensescoop.bsky.social defensescoop.com/2026/03/10/g...

Sean Cairncross lays out what’s coming next for Trump’s cyber strategy National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross says the Trump administration is planning an interagency “cyber cell,” state-based critical infrastructure pilots, and potential changes to cyber disclosure rul...

The national cyber director is pitching an approach that blends cyber operations with diplomacy, law enforcement and pressure on CEOs to shore up their organizations. via @timstarks.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/national-cyb...

CVE program funding secured, easing fears of repeat crisis The funding crisis that nearly shut down the global vulnerability tracking system last year has quietly been resolved, easing fears of another abrupt disruption to a cornerstone of the cybersecurity e...

Some rare good news in cybersecurity. The foundation of the vulnerability management ecosystem is secured, thanks to some great work by our embattled friends at CISA. Great reporting by @metacurity.com

www.csoonline.com/article/4142...

The mystery of a globetrotting iPhone-hacking toolkit Tools used in a series of hacking campaigns by hackers in Russia, Ukraine, and China may have originated inside U.S. government contractor L3Harris, TechCrunch has learned.

There's been a lot of speculation about this, and all signs pointed in this direction. But we now have former L3Harris Trenchant employees telling us that they recongnized some of the artifacts and codenames published by Google.

One of them also told us Coruna was used in Operation Triangulation.

The long-awaited Trump cyber strategy has arrived President Donald Trump released his administration's cyber strategy Friday, promoting offense operations in cyberspace, securing federal networks and critical infrastructure, streamlining regulations,...

The administration also released an executive order on cybercrime and fraud. via @timstarks.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/trump-cybers...

likely ChatGPT generated text of the US cyber security strategy

Claude being snarky

The new US cyber security strategy just dropped. I'm a Claude user, and I suspiciously inquired of Claude as to the # of em-dashes in this 4 pg doc. Then I asked Claude to analyze the probability of this being LLM-written.

Claude then throws some naughty shade.

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

From Ukraine to Iran, Hacking Security Cameras Is Now Part of War’s ‘Playbook’ New research shows hundreds of attempts by apparent Iranian state hackers to hijack consumer-grade cameras, timed to missile and drone strikes. Israel, Russia, and Ukraine have also adopted this trick...

Hacking internet-connected civilian security cameras for recon has become a standard operating procedure of modern warfare. First for Russia and Ukraine, now for Israel and Iran.

Your insecure internet-of-things surveillance system is now their targeting system.

www.wired.com/story/from-u...

Mullin’s appointment to lead DHS raises questions about future of CISA Following months of turmoil, Kristi Noem’s exit leaves uncertainty around DHS’s cyber mission, after CISA faced hefty workforce cuts and still contends with a leadership vacuum.

NEW: Markwayne Mullin's appointment to lead DHS is drawing mixed reactions inside CISA and the department. For some, it's a sign of relief, but others have not heard of him, or are aware of any cyber policy work his office has done.
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

DHS CISO, deputy CISO exit amid reported IT leadership overhaul Two sources tell FedScoop the personnel changes are part of a broader effort to consolidate IT and cybersecurity functions at DHS headquarters.

DHS is undergoing an overhaul of its IT and information security leadership, with multiple sources telling @fedscoop.bsky.social there is a broad realignment underway at the department to replace key technology leaders fedscoop.com/dhs-it-leade...

FBI targeted with ‘suspicious’ activity on its networks The FBI found evidence that its networks had been targeted in a suspected cybersecurity incident, the bureau confirmed on Thursday, without sharing any further details.

The FBI found evidence that its networks had been targeted in a suspected cybersecurity incident, the bureau confirmed on Thursday, without sharing any further details. via @timstarks.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/fbi-targeted...

HHS updates a free risk tool to help hospitals size up their cybersecurity exposure HHS has updated its free RISC 2.0 toolkit with a new cybersecurity module, asking hospitals to assess digital threats alongside hurricanes.

HHS has updated its free RISC 2.0 toolkit with a new cybersecurity module, asking hospitals to assess digital threats alongside hurricanes, power failures and other hazards. via @timstarks.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/hhs-aspr-cyb...

IRS chief says agency is engaged in a ‘thorough’ cybersecurity review Democratic lawmakers pressed Frank Bisignano on the IRS-ICE data-sharing agreement. The CEO said the tax agency is prioritizing risk management and touted its AI work.

Democratic lawmakers pressed Frank Bisignano on the IRS-ICE data-sharing agreement. The CEO said the tax agency is prioritizing risk management and touted its AI work. via @mattbracken.bsky.social fedscoop.com/irs-ceo-fran...

Israel says it knocked out Iran’s cyber warfare headquarters But it’s unclear if the strike has fully taken out Iran’s ability to launch cyberattacks as the Middle East war expands.

The Israeli IDF today claimed to have bombed the cyber and electronic warfare headquarters of the Iranian IRGC in Tehran. Experts are skeptical that this will do much to dampen the threat Iranian hackers pose to the U.S., Israel, and Gulf nations: www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

Trump’s CISA nominee said he left Coast Guard to address GOP hold Sean Plankey confirmed the intent to Nextgov/FCW and said he’s “prepared to lead the nation’s cyber defense agency to protect the federal civilian networks and our nation’s critical infrastructure fro...

EXCLUSIVE: CISA director nominee Sean Plankey told stakeholders he left Coast Guard to show Sen. Rick Scott he’s no longer involved in shipbuilding contract work and to stave off another hold on his confirmation. Plankey confirmed this to Nextgov/FCW:
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...

OK, so, different info out there about what's going on with Plankey and the Coast Guard right now. My reporting leans toward the version of events that is him leaving to focus on CISA, but I've also heard parts of the CBS version.

NASA chatbots, Treasury coding, OPM drafting: How agencies have deployed Claude Federal agencies are working to halt their use of Anthropic tools amid a battle between the Claude maker and President Trump over how those services should be used.

NASA chatbots, Treasury coding, OPM drafting: Federal agencies are working to halt their use of Anthropic tools amid a battle between the company and President Trump over how those services should be used fedscoop.com/nasa-chatbot...

Brett Leatherman talked about AI use in one way here as well cyberscoop.com/brett-leathe...

Will NSO’s US Lobbying Pay Off Under Trump? Now, with Friedman, a seasoned Trump insider, at its helm, NSO might finally achieve its long-awaited US comeback, writes Vas Panagiotopoulos.

NSO Group’s 🇺🇸lobbying efforts provide a stark case study of how #spyware firms deploy vast resources to influence government & democratic decision-making in pursuit of their commercial interests.

➡️ Here’s my analysis for @techpolicypress.bsky.social.

www.techpolicy.press/will-nsos-us...

Cybercom didn’t tell troops to disable location services or uninstall apps, military officials say, after viral message spread amid Iran operation Multiple defense officials said Sunday that a viral message purporting to be from U.S. Cyber Command wasn’t sent by the command, with one calling it "false."

Cybercom didn’t tell troops to disable location services or uninstall apps, military officials say, after viral message spread amid Iran operation @defensescoop.bsky.social @dflawrence.bsky.social defensescoop.com/2026/03/01/c...

Commercial data centers emerge as targets in modern warfare after drones hit 3 AWS facilities This incident likely marks the first publicly confirmed instance of a hyperscale data center run by a U.S. company to be hit in combat.

AWS is grappling with widespread service disruptions this week after drone strikes severely damaged three of the cloud provider’s data centers in the Middle East during a surge of intense military actions in the region. defensescoop.com/2026/03/03/c...

Possible U.S.-developed exploits linked to first known ‘mass’ iOS attack Researchers uncover "Coruna," a sophisticated iOS exploit kit likely leaked from a U.S. government framework. Linked to mass-scale iPhone attacks and Russian espionage, this discovery marks a potentia...

Researchers traced the kit moving from a spyware vendor’s customer to Russian hackers to Chinese cybercriminals. via @timstarks.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/coruna-ios-e...

CISA CIO Robert Costello exits agency The chief information officer at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency announced his departure Tuesday, ending his nearly five-year run at CISA.

His nearly five-year tenure had recently been marked by turmoil. via @timstarks.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/cisa-cio-rob...

Kash Patel’s latest firings ousted agents with expertise in Iran The FBI director gutted a specialized, global espionage unit of counterintelligence agents, just days before Operation Epic Fury.

When FBI Director Kash Patel fired a dozen FBI agents and staff last week for their role in the classified documents investigation of Donald Trump, he targeted an elite counter espionage unit that investigates threats from foreign adversaries and specializes in Iran www.ms.now/news/kash-pa...

The FBI’s cyber chief is using Winter SHIELD to accelerate China prep, threat intelligence sharing Brett Leatherman is running the bureau's most public cyber campaign yet, pushing basic security hygiene while quietly preparing industry for stepped-up Chinese threats.

Brett Leatherman is running the bureau's most public cyber campaign yet, pushing basic security hygiene while quietly preparing industry for stepped-up Chinese threats. via @timstarks.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/brett-leathe...

The FBI’s cyber chief is using Winter SHIELD to accelerate China prep, threat intelligence sharing Brett Leatherman is running the bureau's most public cyber campaign yet, pushing basic security hygiene while quietly preparing industry for stepped-up Chinese threats.

I talked to FBI cyber boss Brett Leatherman about Winter SHIELD, his priorities for the bureau and concerns about FBI cyber work. cyberscoop.com/brett-leathe...

Inside the plan to kill Ali Khamenei Israel spent years hacking Tehran’s traffic cameras and monitoring bodyguards ahead of the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader

"Nearly all the traffic cameras in Tehran had been hacked for years, their images encrypted and transmitted to servers in Tel Aviv and southern Israel, according to two people familiar with the matter." www.ft.com/content/bf99...

Iranian Hacking Groups Go Dark During US, Israeli Military Strikes Iran’s feared hacking groups have failed to play a meaningful role as the US and Israel wage a new war, a silence cybersecurity analysts say underscores how far the Islamic Republic’s online attack an...

A lot of chatter about cyberwar, Iranian retaliation, disruption going around but, for the second war against Tehran in less than a year, Iranian hackers have gone "almost completely dark" -- this time even more starkly than in the 2025 war www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The operational impact of worforce reductions at CISA YouTube video by CyberScoop

In this episode of Safe Mode, @gregotto.bsky.social dives in with @timstarks.bsky.social to unpack what’s happened inside CISA—and what it could mean for the country’s ability to withstand the next major cyber crisis.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUDX... | cyberscoop.com/cisa-personn...