May 23, 2018

FBI has repeatedly over-counted volume of encrypted-phone threats

FBI Director Christopher Wray. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

FBI officials, including Director Christopher Wray, have repeatedly stated that investigators have been locked out of almost 7,800 encrypted cellphones connected to crimes, the Washington Post reports — the real number is closer to 1,000-2,000.

Why it matters: The FBI has used the enlarged statistic as an argument against "Going Dark," which is "the spread of encrypted software that can block investigators' access to digital data," even if it's legally allowed, WaPo reports. This was a major problem after the San Bernardino shooting when investigators were unable to access the gunman's phone.

The details: The FBI attributed the miscount to "programming errors" that "resulted in significant over-counting." The true number is an estimated 1,200, but the new audit could "take weeks to complete."

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Orion Rummler
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Trump says he will announce Supreme Court pick on Saturday

Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump tweeted Tuesday that he plans to announce his Supreme Court pick on Saturday. He later told reporters that the announcement will come at 5 p.m.

Why it matters: Republicans are moving fast to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which would tilt the balance of the high court in conservatives' favor and have lasting impact on climate policy, immigration and the Affordable Care Act.

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Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

We can officially declare the 9-to-5, five-days-a-week, in-office way of working dead. But offices themselves aren't dead. And neither are cities.

The big picture: Since the onset of pandemic-induced telework, companies have oscillated between can't-wait-to-go-back and work-from-home-forever. Now, it's becoming increasingly clear that the future of work will land somewhere in the middle — a remote/in-person hybrid.

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48 mins ago - Politics & Policy

FBI: Foreign actors likely to sow disinformation about delays in election results

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a public service announcement on Tuesday warning that mail-in ballots "could leave officials with incomplete results on election night," and that foreign actors are likely to spread disinformation about the delays.

The bottom line: The agencies called on the public to "critically evaluate the sources of the information they consume and to seek out reliable and verified information from trusted sources," including state and local election officials.

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