Pence used personal email for state business /— and was hacked

Vice President Mike Pence reportedly used a private email account to conduct public business, including homeland security matters, while he was governor of Indiana. Records of the emails were obtained by IndyStar through a public records request. Dwight Adams/IndyStar

Vice President Mike Pence routinely used a private email account to conduct public business as governor of Indiana, at times discussing sensitive matters and homeland security issues.

Emails released to IndyStar in response to a public records request show Pence communicated via his personal AOL account with top advisers on topics ranging from security gates at the governor’s residence to the state’s response to terror attacks across the globe. In one email, Pence’s top state homeland security adviser relayed an update from the FBI regarding the arrests of several men on federal terror-related charges.

Cyber-security experts say the emails raise concerns about whether such sensitive information was adequately protected from hackers, given that personal accounts like Pence's are typically less secure than government email accounts. In fact, Pence's personal account was hacked last summer.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence speaks to members of the media while meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016.(Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

Furthermore, advocates for open government expressed concerns about transparency because personal emails aren't immediately captured on state servers that are searched in response to public records requests.

Pence's office in Washington said in a written statement Thursday: "Similar to previous governors, during his time as Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence maintained a state email account and a personal email account. As Governor, Mr. Pence fully complied with Indiana law regarding email use and retention. Government emails involving his state and personal accounts are being archived by the state consistent with Indiana law, and are being managed according to Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act.”

Security News This Week: The Latest Netflix Release Is a Personal Security Check-Up

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IT WOULDN’T BE 2017 without regular internet-shaking security bugs fueling our nightmares. The crisis >du jour? a flaw in the internet infrastructure company Cloudflare that caused random data leakage from some of the company’s six million customer sites. Brush your teeth and change your passwords, folks. Meanwhile, researchers have figured out how to steal data by watching a hard drive’s blinking LED indicator. And it’s finally possible to attack an old cryptographic hash function that’s still used for encryption more than it should be.

There was good news this week, too, though. Google offshoot Jigsaw and Google’s Counter Abuse Technology Team publicly released code for anti-harassment toolsthey’ve been honing for more than a year so they can hopefully be implemented around the web. Military bases could use smart city technology to improve their safety and security. And former Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter gave WIRED a glimpse of the future of warfare.

Then again, an arms dealer who sells military tech like tanks, missiles, and weapons told WIRED that doing business in the age of President Trump is a “win-win.” So, there’s that.

If you’re sick of all of this and want to crawl under a digital rock, prominent hacker Kevin Mitnick details how to be invisible online.

But wait, there’s plenty more. Each Saturday we round up the news stories that we didn’t break or cover in depth but that still deserve your attention. As always, click on the headlines to read the full story in each link posted. And stay safe out there.

Donald Trump May Have Just Committed an Impeachable Offense

China’s decision to gift the president a valuable trademark this week could violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.

Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up before boarding Marine One on his way to Mar-a-Lago on February 3, 2017.

By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Pesident Donald Trump’s first month in office has been dogged by one misstep after another—botched executive orders and attacks on the judiciary, punctuated by bizarre, and often inappropriate, boasting about the size of his electoral victory and inauguration crowd. He has done little to address the cavalcade of scandals that have already become a defining feature of his presidency, from the shadow of intrigue hanging over his campaign’s dealings with Russia to his undiplomatic threats against U.S. allies, derailing any momentum on his inchoate legislative agenda. There’s an inquiry into his ownership of the Trump International Hotel just down Pennsylvania Avenue, a call to discipline his counselor Kellyanne Conway for giving his daughter Ivanka’s brand a “free commercial” on Fox News, and an investigation underway about whether or not there’s enough security in place at Mar-a-Lago after the president decided to review national-security documents on a terrace at the Palm Beach resort last weekend in plain view of prying dinner guests.

Still, there is some good news for Trump and his personal brand, if not for his already embattled administration. According to ABC News, Trump received a big, fat gift from China this week in the form of a 10-year trademark on his name for construction.

The award marks a sudden reversal of fortunes for Trump, who had reportedly been trying to win the valuable rights to his name for a decade. Interestingly, the Chinese government came through for him one month after he took the oath of office and a week after his conversation with Chinese president Xi Jinping during which he endorsed the One China policy. After years of battling to take back the rights to his name from a man named Dong Wei, Trump’s registration was made official on Tuesday and announced by China’s trademark office on Wednesday.

Trump White House cannot keep its story straight on Flynn resignation

The Trump administration is operating within such a distorted reality of its own making that, after a weeks-long cover-up, they cannot keep their own story straight regarding the Trump team's ties to Russia and Michael Flynn's resignation.

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The Trump administration has had a rough time executing its communications strategy on the resignation of disgraced National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

In announcing the resignation, Donald Trump did not address the circumstances of Flynn’s resignation at all. And in multiple interviews, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway repeatedly stated that the decision to resign was Flynn’s, while asserting that it would be “inappropriate” to comment on whether Trump had been told of the Department of Justice’s warning, given weeks ago, that Flynn might be vulnerable to blackmail over his lies.

But not long after, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer opened his daily briefing by directly contradicting Conway, stating that Trump had asked Flynn to resign, and that Trump had been notified immediately of the Justice Department’s warning on January 26:

The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for General Flynn’s resignation. Immediately after the Department of Justice notified the White House counsel of the situation, the White House counsel briefed the president and a small group of his senior advisers. The White House counsel reviewed and determined that there is not a legal issue, but rather a trust issue.

So, in the course of a day, Trump went from having “full confidence” in Flynn, to reluctantly accepting his resignation because he had become a “distraction,” to demanding Flynn’s resignation over an “eroding level of trust” that apparently occurred in the space of several hours.

Banned From U.S.: ‘You Need to Go Back to Your Country’

Social media shook with emotion. Headlines shouted the news. Legal scholars debated the order’s scope. But the most immediate effect of President Trump’s executive order barring refugees from entering the United States and halting entry from seven predominantly Muslim countries could be quantified on a human scale: refugees and other immigrants from the seven countries, some on their way to the United States on Friday when Mr. Trump signed the order, who were no longer able to enter the United States.

Here are some of their stories.

Hameed Khalid Darweesh, Iraq

Mr. Darweesh, a husband and father of three who worked for the United States military in Iraq for about a decade, was detained after arriving at Kennedy Airport on Friday night. He was granted a special immigrant visa on Jan. 20. When he filed for it, he said he had been directly targeted because of his work for the U.S. as an interpreter, engineer and contractor.

Although Mr. Darweesh’s wife and children were allowed into the country, he was initially detained. Mr. Darweesh was released on Saturday after lawyers filed a writ of habeas corpus in federal court seeking freedom for him, as well as for another Iraqi who was detained at the airport.

With - now released - Iraqi Refugee blocked by Trump’s order at JFK. Working w/@NydiaVelazquez to help 11 more refugees still being held. pic.twitter.com/8HF7jmBdvQ

— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) January 28, 2017

Speaking to reporters and some protesters who gathered outside Kennedy Airport, Mr. Darweesh called America the greatest nation in the world and said he was thankful for the people who had worked on his behalf. “This is the humanity, this is the soul of America,” he said. “This is what pushed me to move, leave my country and come here.”

President Donald Trump signs first bill into law

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump signed his first bill into law Friday, moments after being sworn in, clearing the way for his defense secretary to be confirmed.

The 45th President signed a bill passed by Congress earlier this month that would allow retired Gen. James Mattis to serve as defense secretary by waiving the legal requirement that he be out of the military for seven years before doing so, according to White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

Mattis will still need to be confirmed by the Senate, which is expected Friday afternoon.

Cameras rolled as Trump signed his first orders as President in the Capitol, surrounded by congressional leaders.

According to Spicer, the other papers Trump was signing included formal nominations for his Cabinet and a proclamation for a national day of patriotism.

The ceremony took place moments after Trump left the podium outside the Capitol building where he was sworn in and delivered his inaugural address.

Small protests ahead of Trump's inauguration

Washington (CNN)Several demonstrations broke out Friday morning hours before Donald Trump's swearing in after protesters and Washington police scuffled Thursday night outside a meeting of conservatives.

At one check point, about 50 protesters sat down in the street Friday in an attempt to block Trump supporters from entering a secure area to watch the swearing in. Not far away, a group of immigration backers staged a "pop up" protest near another check point.

On Thursday night, protesters gathered on 14th Street outside the National Press Club to demonstrate against "DeploraBall," an event organized by some of Trump's most fervent supporters. The name riffs off the campaign description of some Trump backers by his defeated opponent, Hillary Clinton, as a "basket of deplorables."

#DeploraBall entrants passing through behind cops being serenaded ("Racist bow ties") pic.twitter.com/WMtbAsKwpe

— Greg Krieg (@GregJKrieg) January 20, 2017

As attendees -- some of whom were clad in suits and red hats, others dressed in gowns -- entered the event, demonstrators chanted "Shame" and "Nazis go home" behind a phalanx of police. Some held signs that read "No Alt Reich" and "No Nazi USA."

Other protesters chanted against the "alt-right," "fascists" and "Nazi scum," though it could not be immediately determined who was attending the event.

Protests outside the #DeploraBall at Nat'l Press Club pic.twitter.com/wl0i5xZfaG

— Greg Krieg (@GregJKrieg) January 20, 2017

The chants were screamed when attendees entered or left the event, but died down when there was no one coming or going. Some demonstrators threw eggs at the National Press Club building and at revelers, though not at police.

A protester has her eyes flushed with water.

Elsewhere in the demonstration, some protesters could be seen setting small fires in the streets, though it was unclear what was set ablaze. A motorcycle was damaged on the street, and police could be seen pepper-spraying some protesters.

Former Trump advisor reportedly sends letter to McCain threatening the U.S. and our military

After spending the weekend trashing Civil Rights icon Rep. John Lewis, President-elect Donald Trump tweeted this morning: "Celebrate Martin Luther King Day and all of the many wonderful things that he stood for. Honor him for being the great man that he was!" Trump, who has routinely trafficked in and empowered white supremacy, either does not know the first thing about the Rev. King's advocacy and activism, or does not care.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Donald Trump spent the weekend preceding Martin Luther King, Jr. Day attacking Rep. John Lewis, a lifetime Civil Rights activist, because Lewis criticized Trump and questioned the legitimacy of his presidency.

This morning, without a shred of irony or self-awareness, Trump tweeted:

Celebrate Martin Luther King Day and all of the many wonderful things that he stood for. Honor him for being the great man that he was!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2017

NPR just offered a shocking and disgusting example of ‘balanced reporting’

Carl Paladino (Wikimedia Commons)

Trump campaign official Carl Paladino recently made headlines for being a disgustingly racist pig of a human being. The former GOP gubernatorial candidate, who managed to get himself elected to the Buffalo, New York, school board, responded to a survey about his New Year’s wishes by attacking the Obamas in the most baldly ugly and racist way imaginable, including wishing for Michelle Obama to be “let loose” in Africa so she could live with apes. He also repeated the racist alt-right meme of her being a man, and said he hoped President Obama “catches mad cow disease” and then “dies before his trial and is buried in a cow pasture next to Valerie Jarret, who died weeks prior, after being convicted of sedition and treason, when a Jihady cell mate mistook her for being a nice person and decapitated her.”

Britain, edging towards Trump, scolds Kerry over Israel

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks on Middle East peace at the Department of State in Washington December 28, 2016. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan

Britain scolded U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for describing the Israeli government as the most right-wing in Israeli history, a move that aligns Prime Minister Theresa May more closely with President-elect Donald Trump.

After U.S. President Barack Obama enraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by refusing to veto a UN Security Council resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Kerry's public rebuke of Israel has unsettled some allies such as Britain.

Amid one of the United States' sharpest confrontations with Israel since the 1956 Suez crisis, Kerry said in a speech that Israel jeopardizeds hopes of peace in the Middle East by building settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

While Britain voted for the UN resolution that so angered Netanyahu and says that settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, a spokesman for May said that it was clear that the settlements were far from the only problem in the conflict.

In an unusually sharp public rebuke of Obama's top diplomat, May's spokesman said that Israel had coped for too long with the threat of terrorism and that focusing only on the settlements was not the best way to achieve peace between Jew and Arab.

Only the hardiest remain at Dakota protest camp

A couple of the remaining activists that are left grappling with plunging temperatures that make conditions there more difficult at the protest camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, December 14, 2016. Picture taken December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Valerie Volcovici

Two weeks after a victory in their fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, most protesters have cleared out of the main protest camp in North Dakota - but about 1,000 are still there, and plan to remain through the winter.

These folks say they are dug in at the Oceti Sakowin Camp in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, despite the cold, for a few reasons. Most are Native Americans, and want to support the tribal sovereignty effort forcefully argued by the Standing Rock Sioux, whose land is adjacent to the pipeline being built.

Others say they worry that Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP.N), the company building the $3.8 billion project, will resume construction without people on the ground, even though the tribes and the company are currently locked in a court battle.

Future decisions on the 1,172-mile (1,885-km) pipeline are likely to come through discussions with the incoming administration of Donald Trump, or in courtrooms.

“I’ve seen some of my friends leave but I will be here until the end and will stand up to Trump if he decides to approve the permit,” said Victor Herrald, of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, who has been at the camp since August.

Gundlach says brace for turmoil if 10-year yields top 3%

An earlier version of this article incorrectly said DoubleLine Capital’s Jeff Gundlach forecast that yields on the 10-year Treasury note will reach 3%. Gundlach said the market would be hurt if yields reach or exceed 3%.

Jeffrey Gundlach, founder and chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital.

Wall Street investors have largely ignored the recent carnage in the bond market, but they could face a rude awakening next year when Donald Trump takes over the U.S. presidency, warns bond guru Jeffrey Gundlach.

In a webcast presentation on Tuesday, the DoubleLine Capital chief executive said if yields on the 10-year U.S.Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.00% jump to 3% or higher , as inflation rates and government debt start to rise under a Trump administration, equity and fixed-income markets could be hurt.

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

“We’re getting to the point where further rises in Treasurys, certainly above 3%, would start to have a real impact on market liquidity in corporate bonds and junk bonds,” he said in the presentation, according to Bloomberg.

Security News This Week: Russian Hackers Are Targeting Germany Now, Too

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GERMANY’S INTELLIGENCE AGENCY accused Russia of deploying cyberattacks against the country, including the spread of propaganda and attempts to destabilize the government. And why not? As we’ve noted before, if the US election taught Putin anything it’s that hacking really can make an impact.

That’s all the more reason to fully investigate Russia’s disruptive role in our election, which this week President Obama, two members of Congress, and prominent GOP Senator Lindsey Graham all did. Of course, as with Obama’s comprehensive cybersecurity plan, anything actionable will likely fall to the Trump administration. And elsewhere in potentially hostile foreign powers, we took a look at incredibly detailed 3-D renders of North Korea’s secretive space command center.

Also this week, secure chat app Wickr introduced an encrypted, self-destructive Slack alternative, while IBM Watson for Cybersecurity took off the training wheels, and is now fighting cybercrime for actual companies. And if we have to leave you with just one piece of advice, let it be this: Don’t trust third-party stores for Android apps. Ever. Just don’t.

And there’s more. Each Saturday we round up the news stories that we didn’t break or cover in depth but that still deserve your attention. As always, click on the headlines to read the full story in each link posted. And stay safe out there.

French police defy government in growing protest movement over lawlessness

Hundreds of police officers have been protesting in Paris and other cities to denounce what they say are insufficient resources to fight mounting lawlessness, defying government demands that they stop the unauthorised demonstrations.

Six months from an election, the protest, now in its third day, has put President François Hollande’s Socialist government on the defensive at a time when security forces are struggling to combat the threat of further terrorist attacks.

Political opponents have seized on the discontent to accuse the government of letting violent crime and everyday lawlessness proliferate despite a large police recruitment drive.

“I understand the anger of the police,” conservative former president Nicolas Sarkozy said. “I’ve never seen such an erosion of authority in this country,” Sarkozy, who is campaigning to become president again, told Europe 1 radio.

Carrier to ultimately cut some of jobs Trump saved

It sounded like great news when Carrier said last week that it would invest millions in the Indiana plant it decided to keep in the U.S.

Watch this: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2016/12/08/carrier-union-boss-jobs-trump-feud.cnnmoney/ -- Title: Union boss on Trump feud: I called him out

The company's deal with President-elect Donald Trump to keep a furnace plant from moving to Mexico also calls for a $16 million investment in the facility.

But that has a big down side for some of the workers in Indianapolis.

Most of that money will be invested in automation said to Greg Hayes, CEO of United Technologies, Carrier's corporate parent. And that automation will replace some of the jobs that were just saved.

Obama Orders Intelligence Report on Russian Election Hacking

President Obama giving a speech at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday. Credit

Doug Mills/The New York Times

Washington — President Obama has ordered American intelligence agencies to produce a full report on Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, his homeland security adviser said on Friday. He also directed them to develop a list of “lessons learned” from the broad campaign the United States has accused Russia of carrying out to steal emails, publish their contents and probe the vote-counting system.

“We may have crossed a new threshold here,” Lisa Monaco, one of Mr. Obama’s closest aides and the former head of the national security division of the Justice Department, told reporters Friday. “He expects to receive this report before he leaves office.”

The report, according to senior administration officials, will trace the attacks on the Democratic National Committee and on prominent individuals like John D. Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Millennials don't think Trump will affect their wallets. But they should

Why Trump's tax plan could raise taxes for 8.7 million households

Millennials don't think a Trump presidency will matter for their wallets.

At least, that's the conclusion reached by a recent survey. Young Americans are among those most likely to think the outcome of the election won't make a difference for their financial security, according to Bankrate.com's December Financial Security Index.

About 45% of respondents aged 18-35 said they think the results of the election won't affect their personal finances either way.

Yemen: US-Made Bombs Used in Unlawful Airstrikes

Dozens of Civilian Deaths Underscore Need for Saudi Arms Embargo

(Beirut) – The Saudi Arabia-led coalition killed several dozen civilians in three apparently unlawful airstrikes in September and October 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. The coalition’s use of United States-supplied weapons in two of the strikes, including a bomb delivered to Saudi Arabia well into the conflict, puts the US at risk of complicity in unlawful attacks.

The attacks underscore the urgent need for foreign governments to suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and for the United Nations human rights office to send additional investigators to Yemen to carry out credible investigations of alleged abuses by the coalition, the Houthis and their allies, and all other parties to the conflict, Human Rights Watch said.

“Saudi-led forces are bombing civilians in Yemen with newly supplied US weapons,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Obama administration is running out of time to completely suspend US arms sales to Saudi Arabia or be forever linked to Yemen wartime atrocities.”

Inauguration protesters barred from National Mall, other sites

Washington (CNN) - Activists planning the "Women's March on Washington" and those protesting the inauguration of Donald Trump won't be able to do so near some of DC's most iconic monuments.

The National Park Service filed documents on behalf of the Presidential Inauguration Committee to secure large sections of Pennsylvania Avenue, as well as the Washington Monument, the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial for the inauguration festivities.

That means activists who were hoping to hold demonstrations at the Lincoln Memorial like many iconic marches and the other sites won't be able to do so.

The National Park Service requests permits for the inauguration a year in advance of the event, said Mike Litterst, spokesman for the agency.

Democrats' revolt threatens government funding bill

(CNN) - Senate approval of a must-pass short-term government spending bill was threatened late Thursday as West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and other Democrats worked to bolster miners' health insurance provisions in it.

They warned they might block the must-pass funding bill if their demands were not met, potentially leading to a government shutdown.

It was not clear if the Democrats could muster the 41 votes they need to block the Republican-authored bill. Adding more uncertainty to the situation, that procedural vote is currently scheduled for Saturday morning, hours after the Friday midnight deadline for when the government would run out of money.