Avril Haines

When it comes to data privacy in our present, hyper-connected age, many of your worst fears and biggest anxieties are probably correct. Yes, smartphones and our manifold other devices collect an incredible array of information on our habits, choices, and movements at all times. Yes, all of this information is compiled by companies to sell for profit. Yes, the U.S. government is among the many clients buying up that data. And yes, it represents a significant and persistent threat to your civil liberties and safety, as…

Photo: Tasos Katopodis-Pool (Getty Images)Havana syndrome, the bizarre malaise that has impacted over a thousand U.S. foreign service members all over the world, is still a total mystery. Indeed, even as the government has attempted to explain away some of the weirdness, it’s pretty obvious we still have no fucking idea what this thing is.On Wednesday, the intelligence community apparently concluded that, no, Havana syndrome is not the result of some sort of sonic weapon wielded by a foreign power. Well, sorta. A popular…

Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)The Department of Energy now assesses that the Covid-19 pandemic most likely began as the result of a leak from a government laboratory, the Wall Street Journal reports. That assessment was laid bare in a classified intelligence report recently shared with the White House and with select members of Congress. The report, which appears to have been a brief survey of the U.S. intelligence community on the issue of Covid-19's origins, shows that the DOE has shifted its assessment about…

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin departs after speaking during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in Washington.Photo: Alex Brandon (AP)The House of Representatives approved changes to next year’s military budget requiring the Department of Defense to start disclosing any purchases of smartphone or web browsing data for which a warrant would ordinarily be required last month.The House’s approval is asign that Congress is growing increasingly concerned with the military and federal government’s…