• The secretive National Reconnaissance Office has announced a new top official. William Adkins was appointed principal deputy director of the NRO on Monday. Adkins previously served as professional staff on the House Appropriations Committee. He’s also a veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency and had been detailed to the NRO to manage technology development projects in the late 1990’s.
  (NRO announces principal deputy director - Social media platform X)
• Congress breathes new life into the Technology Modernization Fund. House and Senate appropriators agreed to give funding to the Technology Modernization Fund for the first time in four years. Lawmakers on the Financial Services and General Government appropriations subcommittee allocated $5 million for 2026 in the bipartisan deal struck over the weekend. Congress had zeroed out any new funding for the TMF since 2023. Two other centralized IT funds also received support from Capitol Hill. The Federal Citizen Services Fund is slated to receive $70 million and the IT Oversight and Reform Fund is getting $8 million.
  (Congress to give TMF $5M FOR 2026 - House Appropriations Committee)
• The Pentagon has rolled out a new artificial intelligence strategy that seeks to transform the department into an “AI-First warfighting force.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the department will invest heavily in AI compute infrastructure, from data centers to systems at the tactical edge. The strategy directs the chief digital and artificial intelligence office to enforce the Pentagon’s “Data Decrees” to make all DoD data interoperable, visible and trustworthy. Military departments and defense agencies will be required to establish and maintain federated data catalogs that expose data assets and system interfaces across all classification levels. Hegseth also directed the department to use special hiring authorities and talent programs to bring in AI talent.
  (New AI strategy aims to make DoD an ‘AI-first’ warfighting force - Department of Defense)
• A new bill will require the Pentagon to assess whether its current efforts to recruit, train and retain cyber talent are working. The Department of Defense Comprehensive Cyber Workforce Strategy Act of 2025 tasks the Pentagon with developing a new cyber workforce strategy. The lawmakers want the Pentagon to assess remaining gaps in implementing the DoD’s 2023–2027 Cyber Workforce Strategy, and identify which elements of the current strategy should be continued or dropped. Congress is also requesting detailed workforce data, including the size of the cyber workforce, vacancy rates, specific work roles and other data related to personnel system metrics. The Pentagon faces a shortage of approximately 25,000 cyber professionals.
  (Senate bill will require DoD to review cyber workforce gaps - Federal News Network)
• The state and local cloud security program known as GovRamp has new leadership. Tony Sauerhoff, the chief artificial intelligence and innovation officer for Texas, is the new president of the GovRAMP Board of Directors. He replaces JR Sloan, the Arizona CIO, who served in that role since 2021. Sauerhoff also served as Texas' chief information security officer and previously worked for the Marine Corps and Air Force. In addition to Sauerhoff’s appointment, GovRAMP announced its 2026 board and committee leadership.
  (GovRAMP names Texas chief AI officer as its new president - GovRAMP)
• Lawmakers look to put more money behind plans to offload unused federal office space. House and Senate appropriators want to give the General Services Administration more than $1 billion to carry out new construction and repair the federal buildings it already owns. Lawmakers said they’re concerned about a multi-billion-dollar maintenance backlog for these buildings. GSA will likely need much more funding to keep its buildings from falling into disrepair. The new GSA administrator said the agency is looking at a $24 billion maintenance backlog, and said that is likely an undercount.
  (Shrinking federal office space, more agencies spared from major cuts: What to expect from latest spending bills - Federal News Network)
• The latest spending package for fiscal 2026 directs the General Services Administration to improve public-facing service delivery. Lawmakers want GSA to make federal websites more accessible to people with disabilities. The spending package also calls on GSA to help agencies improve their public-facing benefits and services through AI tools. But the spending deal doesn’t put any new funding behind this goal.
  (Shrinking federal office space, more agencies spared from major cuts: What to expect from latest spending bills - Federal News Network)
• The Department of Homeland Security is flush with funding for new drone technologies. Now DHS is establishing an office to lead those purchases. DHS’ new Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems will oversee strategic investments expected to total in the billions of dollars in the coming years. This week, the office plans to finalize a $115 million counter-drone award to help secure America250 and FIFA World Cup events. And late last year, DHS began accepting proposals from the counter-drone industry for a $1.5 billion contract vehicle.
  (DHS launches new office to advance drone and counter-drone technologies - Department of Homeland Security)

The post The National Reconnaissance Office has a new top official first appeared on Federal News Network.

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In an anonymous statement, a Tor administrator explains how the Dutch intelligence agency AIVD attempted to recruit him. His story gives a detailed insight into the expanding power of the security state, whose influence now reaches into the business world, prestigious universities, and (international) hacker communities.

Marco*, the provider of the statement, is a 30-year-old Dutchman with a Master of Science degree from the Delft University of Technology. He is an expert concerning the Tor network who – for research purposes – runs some Tor exit nodes. Marco states:

“Suddenly, I was approached by a man and woman at a gym I frequented at that time. They identified themselves with a badge from the Ministry of Interior and explained they were working for the AIVD. I felt somewhat overwhelmed, and I was afraid I had got myself into trouble.”

That is a common tactic used by intelligence agencies. They do not announce their visit in advance so that they can overwhelm their targets. It also gives them an edge before the recruitment process has started.

“First, they asked all sorts of questions related to my education. They had read my thesis regarding IT security and complimented me extensively.”

‘Ego boosting’ is yet another tactic to make the target feel important and comfortable. It also makes you somewhat forget that you are talking to an intelligence officer.

“At one point, they offered me all types of jobs at the AIVD. I could work from their office, but I could also do fieldwork as an informant or infiltrator. They explained they were creating a special team called the Joint Sigint Cyber Unit (JSCU).”

The JSCU is a special department that encompasses employees from the AIVD, as well as the military intelligence agency MIVD. In the past few years, the department has grown significantly to 700 employees, including fifty hackers. Their task is to intercept radio and satellite communications and to engage in cyberwarfare. The JSCU is known to share intelligence with foreign agencies, such as the CIA and the NSA.

“Their approach clarified to me that the intelligence agencies are monitoring IT students in the final stages of their education. They are also looking for individuals who are slightly older – but still connected with younger generations – for management positions.”

At that point, the intelligence officers become more open about the intended targets of the unit:

“Subsequently, they asked me if I was interested in traveling for several years. I could also work for a German technological company. The idea was to travel to Germany and visit Hackspaces of the Chaos Computer Club. I had to report on these events, and the agency would cover all costs.”

The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) was founded in West-Germany in 1981. It is the largest European hacker organization, with approximately 7700 members. The CCC is an independent association that, among other things, shows a strong commitment to (online) privacy, cryptography, and anonymity. Given the expertise and activities of some members, the CCC acts as a magnet for intelligence agencies.

“They kept offering me proposals. They promised me ‘unparalleled opportunities’ if I decided to work for the AIVD. They told me I could attend hacker parties in Spain, Italy, and Austria, and consider those events as paid holidays.”

Then, more targets were mentioned:

“The male intelligence officer explained the AIVD was interested in the developers of Tor and Tails. What he meant was that they need informants and infiltrators, but he said this in a lengthy way. According to the officer, this was part of an international operation.”

Aside from paid expenses and travel costs, Marco was offered a substantial starting salary.

“I could determine my salary, as long as it was no more than 5000 euros per month.”

Despite these generous offers, Marco was able to see through the grooming efforts. He refused, but initially, the officers kept attempting to convince him. When Marco persisted, the tone of the conversation changed. Now, the time for compliments was over.

“We know you are building Tor exit nodes. If you do that while working for us, you can make a living out of it. If you do not work for the intelligence agency and something illegal occurs, we cannot prevent the police from raiding your house and confiscating your equipment. Finally, the officers explained to Marco that talking about the meeting was a criminal offense. After giving me their number, they left.”

Marco’s story demonstrates the priorities and dedication of intelligence agencies. And already they have achieved success. In 2017, the Dutch authorities announced they had taken over, dismantled, and deleted Hansa Market, at that point, one of the largest markets on the dark web.

If intelligence agencies succeed in infiltrating service providers such as Tor and Tails, this will be a severe blow to online privacy and anonymity.

*Marco is a fictitious name.

The post How intelligence agencies recruit Tor administrators appeared first on Rana News.

ZeroFox, a cybersecurity startup that helps companies detect risks found on social media and digital channels, has announced it has acquired dark web threat intelligence company Vigilante.  Vigilante — not to be confused with the controversial crime reporting app — scours the dark web to source intelligence that helps to protect organizations from cyberattacks. The […]