iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Alliance for Critical Infrastructure — which I profiled in May www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/critica... — is expanding with dozens of new members, including from three new sectors. It started as comms, energy, & finance; now also IT, transportation, & water. www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 22h

Amazing: "When asked about Paul's work on immigration and cybersecurity, Johnson said only that 'the good news is we have a president who's secured the border.'" www.politico.com/news/2026/09...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 29/09/2026

GAO has a new report about how agencies gave DOGE staffers vast access to sensitive data and largely refused to verify to GAO that proper security controls were in place. The most remarkable part is the agencies' displays of pique & rancor toward GAO for asking questions. www.gao.gov/assets/gao-2...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 29/09/2026

"The memo ... instructed employees to remain vigilant at home and at work, report any unsolicited contacts or threats, avoid answering calls from unknown numbers and set up voice mail accounts with A.I.-generated voices." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/u...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 29/09/2026

OpenAI has apologized to Australia over the autonomous hacks, saying it "should have shared preliminary findings sooner and kept Australian agencies updated as more facts emerged." It's promising to do better. "We intend to make this right." openai.com/index/how-we...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 28/09/2026

"[F]or many in China, those doomsday warnings feel remote and distinctly Western. The idea that the ruling Communist Party could lose control over a technology is almost unfathomable." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/w...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 28/09/2026

TrendAI put out an interesting report recently about how super-niche AI tools in critical infrastructure are a security risk because they're not getting vetted with the level of scrutiny that major AI products receive. www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/ai-apps...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 25/09/2026

Andor at #32 on the NYT's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century. I'll take it. www.nytimes.com/shared/v1/cl...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 24/09/2026

"[A]t a moment when the cost of living is rising faster than wages, many say the law has plunged Americans into financial uncertainty with the law’s cuts to programs that helped put food on the table and provide affordable health care." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 24/09/2026

In a report released this week, GAO said the FAA isn't doing enough to prevent hackers from interfering with aviation communications channels: www.gao.gov/assets/gao-2...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 24/09/2026

Sens. Mark Warner and Ted Cruz have introduced a bill that would task agencies with creating voluntary cybersecurity best practices for the telecom sector. (It's unclear how voluntary recommendations would actually affect telecoms' behavior.) www.warner.senate.gov/wp-content/u...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 24/09/2026

The plan and the DHS press release both emphasize the Trump administration's talking point that CISA strayed from its mission under the previous administration. There's also a line about DHS "consistently support[ing]" CISA's election security work, which feels ... pointed.

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 24/09/2026

CISA has released its election security plan for the midterms. It's nothing exciting: summaries of how election infrastructure works, what cyber/physical vulnerabilities exist, and what services CISA offers, plus a push for information sharing. www.cisa.gov/sites/defaul...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 24/09/2026

Wiz today announced a "Scan for Good" initiative to use AI to scan under-resourced critical infrastructure for vulnerabilities. It's already found problems in rail systems, hospitals, and vital online tech. www.wiz.io/blog/scan-fo...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 23/09/2026

CISA has published a blueprint for how it wants to work with CVE ecosystem partners to improve the program that enumerates and tracks vulnerabilities. Future publications will go into detail on this, and CISA will publish blog posts about infrastructure improvements. www.cisa.gov/sites/defaul...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 23/09/2026

Despite CISA's efforts to help agencies secure their cloud environments, most agencies still haven't completed all of the tasks in BOD 25-01, per a new DHS IG report. www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/defaul... The report notes that CISA doesn't have the authority to force agencies to comply with its BODs.

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 21/09/2026

"DraftKings makes money when gamblers lose money. And the model sought to identify those it could get to lose the most." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/19/b...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 17/09/2026

"'Republicans didn’t like that it really points the finger at the wealthy as being the problem,' said Barry Johnson, who previously oversaw the tax gap report as the chief data and analytics officer at the I.R.S." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/b...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 11/09/2026

"If that day had not happened, maybe I could have been fully American." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/07/n...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 11/09/2026

"In retrospect, 9/11 was paradoxically both a respite from and accelerant of polarizations and pathologies that were already well underway by then. It allowed Americans to ignore them for a moment, until they came roaring back with redoubled force." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/m...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 11/09/2026

Microsoft is constantly trying to balance better default security with easy user experience. Company leaders acknowledged that this balancing act wasn't easy but pointed to Azure MFA as an example of how to achieve it. And not every org needs every feature on by default.

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 11/09/2026

Last year, a Georgia Tech team won DARPA's AI vulnerability-hunting competition. That team's leader now works for Microsoft. He told me about the shocking success of his multi-agent code scanner that's now reviewing everything Microsoft's developers create.

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 11/09/2026

I also met with the head of Windows Security, who explained how her tiny team of security experts is trying to figure out how to oversee thousands of engineers working on the company's marquee product. She acknowledged some oversight failures had led to recent product missteps.

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 11/09/2026

The cornerstone of Microsoft's efforts is the Secure Future Initiative. The SFI's director told me about CEO Satya Nadella's advice to a CVP at a leadership retreat. He also talked about how Microsoft is integrating cybersecurity into everyone's performance reviews.

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 11/09/2026

Last week, I visited Microsoft's headquarters and talked to senior leaders about how the company has tried to turn a corner on cybersecurity. Here's my story about what's working, what remains challenging, and, of course, how AI factors into everything: www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/microso...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 10/09/2026

National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross provided an update today on the WH's infrastructure cyber initiative. Texas will be a model for helping water utilities in other states, and govt is also preparing to announce projects for other sectors. My story: www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/water-c...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 10/09/2026

CISA is preparing to welcome roughly 250 new employees as part of the agency's first hiring surge since the Trump admin downsized it. On Wednesday, CISA's acting chief talked about that, CIRCIA, ANCHOR-CI, and more. My story: www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cisa-hi...

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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 09/09/2026

The FTC has withdrawn a 2021 warning to health app vendors about their data breach reporting requirements. The rescission www.ftc.gov/system/files... says the warning www.ftc.gov/system/files... "provided minimal benefit and has been superseded by rulemaking."

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