Oct 31, 2018

Less than half of U.S. states have performed on-site election risk assessments

Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

21 states in the U.S. have completed or are scheduled to complete on-site risk and vulnerability assessments of their election systems through the Department of Homeland Security, first reported by ABC News, and since confirmed to Axios by a DHS official.

The big picture: 36 states have completed remote cyber hygiene scans through DHS, the official said, and several states have also chosen to use private sector tools to scan for vulnerabilities in election systems as opposed to tapping into federal resources. All 50 states are participating in sharing election related threats through the election infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC).

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Ben Geman

1 hour ago - Energy & Environment

BP's in the red, slashing its dividend and vowing a greener future

Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images

BP posted a $6.7 billion second-quarter loss and cut its dividend in half Tuesday while unveiling accelerated steps to transition its portfolio toward low-carbon sources.

Why it matters: The announcement adds new targets and details to its February vow to become a "net-zero" emissions company by mid-century.

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Sara Fischer

2 hours ago - Economy & Business

Women-focused non-profit newsrooms surge forward in 2020

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Women are pushing back against the gender imbalance in media by launching their own news nonprofits and focusing on topics many traditional news companies have long ignored.

Why it matters: "The news business is already gendered," says Emily Ramshaw, co-founder and CEO of The 19th*, a new nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting at the intersection of women, politics and policy.

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Scott Rosenberg

2 hours ago - Technology

The U.S. is now playing by China's internet rules

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump's crackdown on TikTok suggests that the U.S. government is starting to see the internet more like China does — as a network that countries can and should control within their borders.

The big picture: Today's global internet has split into three zones, according to many observers: The EU's privacy-focused network; China's government-dominated network; and the U.S.-led network dominated by a handful of American companies. TikTok's fate suggests China's model has U.S. fans as well.