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Eight months into the second Trump administration, whats most striking about its cybersecurity policy is whats missing: Much of the workforce of the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, a permanent leader for the agency, and a public discussion about what the president did to its two previous directors. On top of this, CISA and other federal information-security offices have been plunged into this turmoil even as digital threats continue to escalate, with Chinese and North Korean attackers regularly breaking into critical U.S. systems. The next cybersecurity crisis could come in the form of yet another penetration of corporate or government networks, or of less-defended but still-critical infrastructure like sewer and water systems. Or it could involve a target that the Trump administration has itself created: the large amounts of data compiled and copied with questionable security by its DOGE government-disruption project and its brutal crackdown on undocumented immigrants. But since Trumps second inauguration, standing before a contingent of tech CEOs, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has ordered CISA to drop election security and misinformation from its missions. Layoffs have cut deep into its ranks: In June, the trade publication Cybersecurity Dive reported that one-third of CISAs workforce had headed for the exits. That marks a stark contrast with the first Trump administrations approach to cybersecurity — which included launching CISA. Sure, there was some upheaval, but nothing like this administration, says Katie Moussouris, CEO of the bug-bounty firm Luta Security. The government shutdown, which is forcing about a third of CISAs remaining employees to work without pay while it furloughs the remainder, seems unlikely to improve the situation. Outrage, weaponized CISA also lacks a Senate-confirmed director, with Trumps nominee Sean Plankey stalled after Ron Wyden, the Democratic senator from Oregon, placed a hold on the nomination until CISA releases a 2022 report on the security of U.S. telecom networks. Trump himself has paid less attention to his would-be CISA head than to the two previous occupants of that office: Jen Easterly, who ran it under President Biden, and Chris Krebs, whom Trump appointed in 2017 at CISAs founding and then fired in November of 2020 for his public defense of the 2020 elections integrity. In April, Trump ordered agencies to yank Krebs security clearances and launch investigations into him and his employer, the security firm SentinelOne. A week later, Krebs resigned, telling colleagues that he needed to take on that fight fully – outside of SentinelOne. In July, the Army rescinded Easterlys appointment to a temporary department chair at West Point after the extremist influencer Laura Loomer complained about it on X as she has about other staffing choices. When outrage is weaponized and truth discarded, it tears at the fabric of unity and undermines the very ethos that draws brave young men and women to serve and sacrifice, Easterly, a West Point graduate, wrote in a LinkedIn post denouncing the move. Neither Krebs nor Easterly, contacted via intermediaries, responded to requests for comment. Worse than expected Add in developments like Trump dismissing the members of the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), an investigatory office modeled on the National Transportation Safety Board, and the barely averted end of federal funding for a widely consulted database of security vulnerabilities, and the picture looks grimmer than the forecasts of security experts last summer for a possible Trump victory. I did not think they were going to break with norms as much as they have in this administration, says Moussouris. She worries about attackers overseas now taking advantage of this disarray: I think our adversaries are having a field day. She finds the punishment of Krebs and Easterly especially toxic. Its going to make it harder for career professionals to want to move into the federal government space, she says. Its going to make it harder for those folks coming out of government to be hired by private industry. Steven Bellovin, a computer-science professor at Columbia University with multiple stints on government advisory boards, gripes about the pettiness of cutbacks like shutting down the CSRB. Of course they didit was a Biden initiative, he says. Ari Schwartz, executive director of the Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law and, in President Obamas second term, the National Security Councils senior director for cyber, worries about the loss of experience and talent at ISA and elsewhere. They lost some people that have been there a long time, he says. They lost some people who are really, really good. And its the nations loss. Schwartz also sees this White Houses foreign policy impeding cooperation with other countries. This administration has done some things to build good relationships with our allies and has done some things to put our allies off a bit,” he says. He declined to comment about Krebs and Easterly. CISA is laser-focused on its role as America’s premiere cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience, the agencys public-affairs director Marci McCarthy said in a statement. A somewhat silenced CISA When security researchers, policymakers and marketers convened in Las Vegas in August for the annual Black Hat conference to compare notes and do business, CISA had a much lower profile there. Agency representatives speaking this year were relegated to side stagesa sharp contrast with last year, when that event opened with a keynote from Easterly. Chris Butera, acting executive assistant director for CISAs cybersecurity division, acknowledged that the agency had lost some people, while adding that it has a very talented workforce. He noted CISAs speedy response to a Microsoft Exchange vulnerability disclosed in a Black Hat talk the day before the first time, he said, the agency had directed other federal offices to install patches for a just-identified weakness within 24 hours. Following a panel featuring McCarthy hosted by the Washington security-startup foundry DataTribe, Fast Company asked her what the administrations treatment of Krebs and Easterly suggested about its openness to dissenting views. That would be a question for President Trump, McCarthy replied. The work continues The Trump administrations capriciousness notwithstanding, Schwartz and Moussouris cited some reasons for cautious optimism. Schwartz points to Trumps pick of Sean Cairncross as national cyber director. Hes known to be a good manager, Schwartz says of Cairncross, who served as CEO of the governments Millennium Challenge Corporation in the first Trump administration. Schwartzs suggested a key next step for the administration: Get Congress to renew the 2015 law offering legal protection to companies for sharing threat data amongst themselves and with the government. Congress allowed that statute expire at the end of September. That, of course, will have to wait until the conclusion of the shutdown. Moussouris, meanwhile, gives a thumbs-up to the Trump administrations push back against Britain’s demand that Apple compromise end-to-end encryption securing iCloud backupswhich resulted in Westminster giving in to Washington. Whoever is giving them advice on that particular policy matter has it dead right, she says. Thats also her advice for cybersecurity leaders in this administration going forward. Listen to the technologists, she says. Go beyond the scope of whatever policy agenda has been given to you.
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E-Commerce
You might have noticed some of your coworkers are overly excited this week and counting down the minutes until midnight on October 3. No, these are not diehard cinephiles devoted to the 2004 film Mean Girls (which features a joke about the date). Instead, they’re Taylor Swift fans. The Life of a Showgirl, Swifts twelfth studio album, is set to be released late Friday night. (So if the Swifties in the office seem overwhelmed, grant them grace, because this is a big week.) Heres everything you need to know about the albumin case you’re cornered by the coffee maker by someone with a friendship bracelet (the unofficial signifier of a Swift super fan). When and how did Swift announce The Life of a Showgirl? On August 11, Swifts website revealed a countdown to 12:12 a.m. ET on August 12. When time ran out, she announced The Life of a Showgirl and promised more details would be revealed on her later appearance on her fiancé Travis Kelces podcast “New Heights. How did the Eras Tour influence The Life of a Showgirl? During her two-hour podcast conversation with both Travis and his brother Jason Kelce, Swift revealed that the album was inspired by her experiences behind the scenes of the Eras tour. She wrote, produced, and recorded the majority of the album on the European leg in 2024. She would do three days of shows, then fly to Sweden to record. It was hard but rewarding work: I was physically exhausted at this point in the tour, but I was so mentally stimulated and so excited to be creating, she explained. Who is the creative team behind The Life of a Showgirl? For this album, Swift is teaming up with producers Max Martin and Shellback again. The trio had previously collaborated on tracks such as 22, Blank Space, and “. . . Ready for It?” Former long-time collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner did not work on this album.These guys, theyre just geniuses, Swift gushed on the podcast, referring to Martin and Shellback. Weve never actually made an album before where its just the three of us. Theres no other collaborators. Its just the three of us making a focused album. What do we know about the album’s tracks, titles, and lead single? There are just 12 tracks on the album, which is a big departure from Swifts recent releases. The Tortured Poets Department turned into a surprise double album with 31 tracks. Midnights had 13 tracks, until Midnights (3am Edition) added seven bonus tracks. Because of Martin and Shellbacks involvement, we can guess this will be a more pop-centered album full of big showstopping numbers, and likely more upbeat and less folksy than recent releases.It just comes from like the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life, Swift explained on the podcast. And so that effervescence has come through on this record. The albums lead single is The Fate of Ophelia, referencing William Shakespeares tragic character from Hamlet. Meanwhile, the title track features Sabrina Carpenter, who opened for Swift in select cities during the Eras Tour. She is the only known guest artist on the album at this time.Historically, the fifth track of a Swift album is saved for the most emotional song. This time around, Eldest Daughter gets that honor. I heard there’s also a movie? Swift is a master of public relations and marketing. To coincide with the album release, she is also hosting a movie event. Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl will feature behind-the-scenes footage, the music video for The Fate of Ophelia, and special commentary on the creative process. The 89-minute extravaganza will only be in limited theaters from October 3 to 5. How is Swift promoting The Life of a Showgirl? During release week, Swift is appearing on The Graham Norton Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night With Seth Meyers. Her social media accounts have a calendar listing all the events leading up to the big day. Why are Swift fans talking about the word ‘standby’? One of these events is currently a mystery: Saturday, October 4 is simply listed as standby. Swifties, known for being internet detectives, are desperately trying to figure out what this means. Could it be a tour announcement, or a surprise Saturday Night Live appearance? All will be revealed with time, but one can see how Swifties have a lot to be excited about this week.
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Rumor has it that soda fountains at a handful of gas stations and convenience stores across the Midwest are serving a thicker, more syrupy variant — with extra sweetness. Aptly dubbed heavy soda, the drink option can be traced back to a singular post on the subreddit r/Soda, and a few TikTok videos. You know when the gas station fountains have this option youre in gods country, creator Kate Boyer wrote in the caption of a post earlier this year. The video has since gained almost seven million view. The drink has recently been picked up by a number of news organizations. Not to be confused with the recent dirty soda or protein soda trends, heavy soda is all about dialling up sweetness and flavor (also rumored to be the secret recipe behind McDonalds Cokes superiority to all other types of Coke). The soda fountain supposedly dispenses an extra blast of syrup, resulting in a sweeter, more concentrated version of popular sodas like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Dr Pepper. Taking it a step further, one TikToker, an employee at a movie theater, even claimed that co-workers skipped the water altogether and drank straight from the Mountain Dew syrup fountain. Some commenters have taken this as an opportunity to dunk on America’s sweet tooth culture. Heavy soda is the most American culture, one wrote. Gods country is the reason we cant have free healthcare, another wrote. Many, however, protested their innocence, claiming theyve never seen the heavy option out in the wild. Ive lived in and been all over the South most of my life, and I have never heard of or seen this anywhere, one Reddit user responded. This must be some very backwoods rural area place. It seems most of the confirmed sightings have been in Missouri. For everyone asking, Heavy Pepsi is a Missouri thing, one wrote. Another responded: Ive seen it in Missouri gas stations south of St. Louis. I tried the heavy Mountain Dew. Its way better than it should be. Another explained that the fountain option is ideal for those who need their Big Gulp to last all day, with the ice diluting the heavy soda over time to the perfect ratio, thereby avoiding a watered down drink by the end of the day. Viral soda recipes? While heavy soda may not have caught on in other parts of the U.S. just yet, companies like McDonalds and Crumbl Cookies are trialling their own versions of viral soda recipes to capitalize on the social media-fueled frenzy for ultra-customized and made-to-order beverages. Beverages have been one of the hottest growth businesses for U.S. restaurants, the Wall Street Journal reported, with sales up 9.6% in 2024, the biggest annual increase of any restaurant category. At Starbucks, one-quarter of the chains custom drinks sold in the U.S. have more than three customer modifications like an extra shot or pump of flavored syrup, a company spokeswoman recently told The New York Times. In an era of personalization and little treat culture, an off-shelf soda no longer hits the same.
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