Published March 17, 2017

Passcode signs off

The Monitor’s cybersecurity and privacy project ends March 31.

As the Monitor winds down its cybersecurity and privacy project, Passcode founders give special thanks to readers, writers, contributors, and sponsors, and look back on some of their favorite articles, projects, and columns.

CSM Projects

Published February 10, 2017

The web of vulnerabilities

The ecosystem of spies, criminals, and companies that compete to find and exploit software defects.

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Published October 25, 2016

The Passcode Cup

Scenes from Passcode’s capture the flag hacker challenge

At the inaugural Passcode Cup capture the flag challenge, competitors raced through hacking challenges that ranged from password-cracking to compromising a mock water treatment facility.

Jack Detsch

Published October 23, 2016

15 under 15: Rising stars in cybersecurity

By Sara Sorcher & Ann Hermes

Published August 19, 2016

Hacking diversity in cybersecurity

How gender and racial imbalance in the field affects women, minorities, and white men working in digital security.

At the Black Hat and Def Con conferences, attendees addressed the lack of diversity in the cybersecurity community.

CSM Projects

Published August 15, 2016

The Cybersecurity Podcast

Passcode and New America have a new podcast featuring the leaders and thinkers of cybersecurity

Published July 31, 2016

Stronger together

India is home to 18.3 million modern slaves. Can mobilizing freed ones help change that?

Story by Michael Holtz, photos by Ann Hermes | July 31, 2016

Published July 20, 2016

The cypherpunk revolution

How the tech vanguard turned public-key cryptography into one of the most potent political ideas of the 21st century.

An excerpt from “Rise of the Machines: A Cybernetic History.”

CSM Projects

Published June 10, 2016

Artist’s campaign targets biometric surveillance

Artist and researcher Adam Harvey wants to raise awareness about the pervasiveness of biometric tracking on the web and in everyday life.

CSM Projects

Published March 25, 2016

Can developing petrostates learn to live without oil?

What looks like an economic catastrophe may turn out to be an opportunity.

CSM Projects

Published March 23, 2016

What does privacy mean to you?

A photo series exploring this key issue of the Digital Age.

At this year’s South by Southwest Interactive festival, photographer Ann Hermes asked people what privacy means to them. Here’s what she found out.

CSM Projects

Published March 21, 2016

FBI v. Apple timeline: Tracking legal battles over iPhone security

Though the Department of Justice has concluded the cases over locked iPhones in San Bernardino and Brooklyn, those cases could prove instrumental in future fights with Apple involving smartphone security. Here are the significant dates, legal filings, and arguments in both cases.

Malena Carollo | March 21, 2016

Published March 21, 2016

Lessons on security and privacy from SXSW

Everything we talked about, debated, and discovered at the 2016 South by Southwest Interactive festival in Austin.

Security and privacy were hot topics for the tens of thousands of digerati who flocked to Austin for the 2016 South by Southwest Interactive festival.

CSM Projects

Published March 17, 2016

The source code of political power

Human interaction is a march toward change and turmoil – not stability

CSM Projects

Published March 8, 2016

Hackers in training

Students from two of the world’s top universities raced to conquer the toughest cybersecurity challenges.

The Cambridge 2 Cambridge contest involved MIT and the University of Cambridge in a hackathon meant to hone students’ cybersecurity skills.

Story by Jack Detsch and photos by Ann Hermes | Mar. 8, 2016

Published February 23, 2016

Is the UK’s clean-energy future at risk?

The government says it’s working to reduce over-spending on subsidies for renewables, but critics aren’t convinced.

Cristina Maza, Staff writer of the Christian Science Monitor • Feb. 23, 2016

Published February 11, 2016

Exploring cybersecurity from China’s perspective

Excerpts from a talk with Adam Segal, Sharon Hom, Michael Sulmeyer, and Lobsang Gyatso Sither.

Passcode spoke with cybersecurity experts and human rights activists to better understand how and why China is hacking the world.

Michael B. Farrell • Feb. 11, 2016

Published January 29, 2016

Beehives and voting booths

There’s order in the chaos of presidential primaries, but is there wisdom?

By John H. Miller, Carnegie Mellon University and the Santa Fe Institute

Published January 27, 2016

Where the candidates stand on cybersecurity

From encryption to Chinese hackers, a handy guide to Internet politics in the 2016 presidential election.

As presidential candidates take the stage Thursday for an important Republican debate – the last before the Iowa caucuses – all of them will likely be prepared for questions on digital security and privacy.

By Lauren Leatherby | Jan. 27, 2016

Published January 25, 2016

Human trafficking: California keeps a closer eye on recruiters

A new law seeks to protect vulnerable guest workers, and unwary businesses, from unscrupulous recruiters.

CSM Projects

Published January 19, 2016

Why people become terrorists

How violent extremism emerges from complex social systems.

Mirta Galesic, Santa Fe Institute

Published January 18, 2016

California wants to know who’s harvesting your shrimp

When it comes to big business, what can a transparency law really achieve?

CSM Projects

Published January 11, 2016

Radical idea to help freed slaves: Just give them cash

In Thailand, the Issara Institute gives freed workers money, instead of services, and a chance to make their own choices

CSM Projects

Published January 8, 2016

Why GPS is more vulnerable than ever

The space-based navigation and timing system faces a growing risk of attack. But there is a simple solution.

The Global Positioning System that some 4 billion people rely on daily is essentially unprotected, opening it up to serious attacks from rogue nation states or criminal hackers who want to wreak havoc on American cities. But there is a simple solution to protect the navigation and timing network that underpins modern daily life.

By Joe Uchill | Jan. 8, 2016

Published January 6, 2016

Engineered societies

Can science help orchestrate social outcomes? Should it?

Jessica C. Flack, Santa Fe Institute, and Manfred D. Laubichler, Arizona State University and Santa Fe Institute

Published January 4, 2016

In Seattle, a team approach gets victories against traffickers

CSM Projects

Published December 22, 2015

Are humans truly unique? How do we know?

Jennifer A. Dunne and Marcus J. Hamilton, Santa Fe Institute

Published December 21, 2015

On embassy row, a fraying veil of immunity

Foreign missions in the US that abuse their domestic staff are being held to account

Taking on diplomatic immunity that shields labor trafficking

CSM Projects

Published December 14, 2015

For migrants, a push for cross-border justice

Lawyers are helping Mexican workers sue abusive employers in US courts.

CSM Projects

Published December 7, 2015

An epic legal battle pays off for trafficked workers

The lessons learned from a landmark US lawsuit

CSM Projects

Published December 1, 2015

Old economic models couldn't predict the recession. Time for new ones.

The US uses ‘Big Computing’ to analyze climate, healthcare, and even traffic – why not the economy?

Rob Axtell, George Mason University, and J. Doyne Farmer, the Institute for New Economic Thinking and the Santa Fe Institute

Published November 30, 2015

World’s chocolate gets sweeter: How consumer outrage is reducing child labor on cocoa farms

CSM Projects

Published November 25, 2015

Could finance derail Paris climate talks?

CSM Projects

Published November 25, 2015

In Paris, a turning point for global climate talks

Long-time participants hope this year's UN climate summit can succeed where past efforts have fallen short.

by David J. Unger, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor • Nov. 25, 2015

Published November 18, 2015

How to free modern slaves: Three tech solutions that are working

From satellite surveillance of illegal fishing boats to online sleuthing into recruitment practices.

Part 5 in a series on solutions to labor trafficking.

CSM Projects

Published November 17, 2015

A Planet of Cities

Why all cities – despite their unique geographies, cultures, and accidents of history – are really the same.

Luís M. A. Bettencourt and Geoffrey B. West, The Santa Fe Institute

Published November 13, 2015

In Florida’s tomato fields, a fight for ethical farm labor grows

For most of Immokalee’s field hands, blatant abuses have largely vanished from the tomato rows.

CSM Projects

Published November 11, 2015

notebook

CSM Projects

Published November 10, 2015

Complexity

Worlds hidden in plain sight

David Krakauer, President, Santa Fe Institute

Published November 9, 2015

Energy Voices

Perspectives on the future of global energy and the climate

Curated by The Christian Science Monitor

Published November 9, 2015

From England's pews, a quiet abolitionist finds his voice on slavery

A collaboration between Catholic churches and police officers to fight trafficking takes shape

CSM Projects

Published November 9, 2015

Why universities and industry should collaborate on climate change

To achieve the kind of sustainable future we will want our grandchildren to inherit, we need everyone on board.

To achieve the kind of environmentally sustainable future we will want our grandchildren to inherit, we need everyone on board, Armstrong writes.

By Robert Armstrong, MIT Energy Initiative • Nov. 9, 2015

Published November 8, 2015

The Summit

CSM Projects

Published November 4, 2015

UN climate chief: Global warming above 2 degrees C is not an option

Christiana Figueres talks climate risks and energy transformations at a Monitor-hosted event.

by Cristina Maza, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor • Nov. 3, 2015

Published November 2, 2015

One woman’s journey from Staten Island slavery to being her own boss

Labor trafficking victims in New York have banded together to help others and build new lives.

CSM Projects

Published October 26, 2015

Labor trafficking is everywhere and nowhere

An overview of 21st-century slavery

CSM Projects

Published October 16, 2015

The secretive industry of social media monitoring

Schools and police turn to private firms to help address school violence.

Story by Malena Carollo and illustrations by Erick Montes

Published October 16, 2015

Momentum – but uncertainty – in final pre-Paris climate talks

by Cristina Maza, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor • Oct. 16, 2015

Published October 14, 2015

Everyone’s favorite climate change fix

Economists, officials, and executives across the globe are increasingly united around using carbon pricing to stem the

by Cristina Maza, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Published October 6, 2015

As winter looms, war-weary Ukraine shows signs of energy independence

As Russia and Europe push for a wintertime natural gas deal, will Ukraine assert its independence and forgo Russian gas?

by Cristina Maza, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor • Oct. 6, 2015

Published October 2, 2015

Seeing the Paris climate talks through a wide-angle lens

What happens around and after the summit is just as important as the summit itself, experts said at an event Thursday.

David J. Unger, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor • Oct. 2, 2015

Published September 24, 2015

Central Asia’s shifting pipeline politics

Caught between superpowers, can "the stans" find independence amid an energy revolution?

by Cristina Maza, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor • Sept. 24, 2015

Published September 15, 2015

From Boston to Beijing, signs of climate momentum

Experts talk energy progress at an event hosted by The Christian Science Monitor and World Resources Institute.

By Cristina Maza and David J. Unger, Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor • Sept. 15, 2015

Published September 8, 2015

‘Hackers’ at 20

How a 20-year-old, mostly inaccurate flop predicted the future, reshaped sci-fi, and won over the real hacker community.

By Joe Uchill

Published September 2, 2015

Clean energy made simple

Power your home or business with 100% wind energy in minutes.

In five minutes, you can hit the switch on clean, renewable wind energy for your entire home. Learn how from Arcadia Power.

The battery’s next revolution

A new generation of super cells promises to reshape the future of energy.

by David J. Unger, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor • Sept. 3, 2015

Published August 18, 2015

Whistleblower’s dilemma

Before Snowden, Robert MacLean’s leak ruined his career. Now, he’s calling for stronger whistleblower protection.

By Mary Cirincione

Published July 7, 2015

Opinion: Why strong encryption is elementary

The case against encryption ‘back doors’ simplified so even a child can understand it.

The debate heating up in Washington over privacy safeguards on consumer devices may seem complex. But, simply put, strong encryption is better for everyone.

Robert M. Lee

Published June 30, 2015

The battle between Washington and Silicon Valley over encryption

Tech titans such as Apple and Google are battling the Obama administration over strong security on consumer devices, strengthened after the Snowden leaks. The outcome could impact the future of the Internet.

Story by Sara Sorcher & illustrations by Erick Montes

Published June 26, 2015