Biden Administration Fails to Contain ICE’s Unchecked Power
Under the now-outdated reign of Donald Trump, America was causing constant disruption in international relations, leading to potential shifts in worldwide diplomacy. In a bid to show its military prowess, China held a sweeping display of power with a comprehensive military parade in Tiananmen Square on a recent Wednesday. Ex-President Trump, ever committed to undermining US election integrity, continually assaulted domestic election systems, leading the experts in this field to send urgent reminders that the president has no authority to control how states manage voting—let alone establish federal control of US elections.
In a surprising development, a substantial no-bid contract was handed out by the US Department of Homeland Security. The recipient was none other than a company owned by Dan LaLota, an ex-Marine sniper. The contract stipulated that LaLota’s organization provide sniper and combat training worth a grand total of $30,000. While there may be scope for accusations of nepotism, LaLota claimed, rather ironically, that his brother, GOP congressman Nick LaLota, did not in any way contribute towards the company landing the contract.
The digital landscape is evolving in increasingly worrying directions. A novel type of ‘infostealer’ malware made its debut recently, aptly named due to its role in extortion scams. This intrusive program focuses on seeking out mature content during its victims’ online browsing and not only captures snapshots of this illicit material but also photographs the viewers via their webcams while the material is being viewed.
The powers given to the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration were alarming. A massive budget, a whopping $170 billion thanks to Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’, equipped ICE to carry out extensive deportations. As if this wasn’t enough, ICE’s toolkit was about to become even more powerful with the addition of spyware technology.
In a bold move, the prior Trump administration brushed off a blockage implemented by the Biden administration that prevented ICE from procuring hacking tools. This step was taken to facilitate the purchase of these cybersecurity implements from Paragon, an Israeli firm with which it had previously agreed on a $2 million contract last September. It is a wonder how ICE’s power continues to grow unabated in this manner.
Companies known for their prowess in technology and cybersecurity, such as Cloudflare, Palo Alto Networks, and Zscaler, found themselves in an uncomfortable position. They were forced to declare the theft of their customer information, a breach caused by a hack targeting Salesloft, a sales, and revenue generation organization. This data infringement was set in motion as far back as August; even so, more businesses are just now discovering that their customer data was also appropriated.
North Korea’s Kim regime, spanning three generations, has always been an enigma to US intelligence agencies. Gaining insight into its complex and obscured workings remains an intense challenge. In 2019, an ill-fated attempt by SEAL Team 6 to plant an electronic surveillance device on North Korean soil resulted not only in failure but in unnecessary loss of life as well.
Despite its age-old nature, phishing remains, frighteningly, one of the most effective tools in a hacker’s arsenal. Initial access to the networks of their intended victims is often gained through this deceptive method. Recent studies suggest an explanation for this phenomenon—educating employees to spot and fend off phishing attempts is leading to significant difficulty.
Even in this digitally modern era, online piracy remains a highly profitable venture. Last year saw more than 216 billion visits to sites hosting forbidden streams of movies, TV shows, and sports. However, let it be a lesson that such lawless operations don’t always go unpunished – Streameast, the biggest platform for illicit sports streaming, was taken down courtesy of a collaborative investigation by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment and Egyptian authorities.